Oil Spill From Tanker Caroline Bezengi Reaches Oman's Coast, Threatening Up to 40 Km of Shoreline

An oil leak from the tanker Caroline Bezengi, which ran aground near Oman's coast on 9 Tir 1405 (June 30, 2026), reached the country's shoreline on Wednesday, 21 Mordad (August 12, 2026), Al Jazeera reported. Oman's Environment Authority said the pollution could affect up to 40 km of coastline in the Ras Madrakah area and parts of Masirah Island; satellite-imagery analysis cited by Reuters shows the slick now covers more than 2,000 square kilometers.

The tanker, believed to be part of Russia's "shadow fleet" used to circumvent Western sanctions, was carrying an estimated 800,000 barrels of sanctioned oil on a voyage from the Russian port of Novorossiysk to India that passed through the Red Sea near Yemen's coast. CBS News confirmed the incident in a separate report, describing it as a threat to the region's sensitive marine ecosystem, including the Hallaniyat Islands marine reserve.