Oman Faced Worst Oil Disaster as Spill Reaches Coast

Oman officials say a massive spill has finally hit their shores. A vast slick from the leaking tanker reached the coastline on Wednesday, confirmed by the country's environment agency. Experts warn this event could become one of the worst oil disasters in years because the crude spread largely unchecked for several weeks before anyone stopped it.

By Monday, authorities were scrambling to contain the mess. At that point, analysis showed roughly 390 square kilometres, or about 150 square miles, had already been contaminated. Now, John Amos, an oil spill specialist who reviewed satellite imagery obtained by Reuters, says the situation has ballooned. The slick covers more than 2,000sq km, which is nearly 770sq miles. It threatens to coat about 40km of coast near Ras Madraka and could reach Masirah Island, Oman's Environment Authority stated.

What exactly went wrong? The Caroline Bezengi ran aground some time after crew members reported a suspected explosion on June 8. The ship was carrying an estimated 800,000 barrels of sanctioned oil from Russia to India when it grounded about 22 nautical miles off the Omani town of Sharbithat. AFP investigations found the vessel had been stranded for weeks near al-Qibliyyah Island while oil drifted toward populated areas. Today's monitoring results show beaches in the Ras Madrakah area are already polluted, ONA quoted the authority as saying. That Indian Ocean town sits about 200km from where the ship got stuck.

The spill is now concentrated around the Hallaniyat Archipelago off the southern coast. This spot holds a marine reserve established last year to protect sensitive ecosystems home to rare sea turtles and diverse marine life. A coastal stretch of up to 40 km in the Ras Madrakah area is expected to suffer more damage soon. The southern beaches of Masirah Island, which lies just 15km or nine miles off the coast, could be contaminated within hours. This would affect a coastline stretching between 10 and 20km. An unnamed spokesperson for the United Nations International Maritime Organization said they are closely monitoring the leakage.

How did this happen? British maritime security company Vanguard told AFP that the tanker suffered explosions in early June as it sailed off Yemen, letting water into several sections of the vessel. No party has claimed an attack, and there is no official explanation for the blasts. Still, the ship was navigating two separate wars on its journey from Russia to India. Tankers have been frequently targeted in the Gulf region recently as US actions against Iran continue.

In April, the Caroline Bezengi sailed from the Russian port of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea, a flashpoint in the Russia-Ukraine war. It is believed to be part of Russia's shadow fleet used to circumvent Western sanctions on its oil exports.

The Caroline Bezengi last flew a Cameroonian flag before it met its end. According to OpenSanctions, an open-source database, Rentoor Shipmanagement from China owns the vessel while Villar Shipmanagement operates it. Both companies are based in China. These entities run vessels that belong to Russia's shadow fleet. That network consists of ageing ships often blasted for poor maintenance, a lack of insurance, and weak safety standards. Ukraine has struck these targets before when they were believed to be hauling Russian oil.

Tracking data shows the Caroline Bezengi passed through the Suez Canal at the end of May. It then moved across the Red Sea and past Yemen. There, Iran-aligned Houthi fighters have entered a wider regional war involving the United States, Israel, and Iran. They are now targeting Saudi Arabia-flagged ships. What happens when an oil spill occurs?

Last week, Greenpeace warned that this specific spill was on the verge of becoming an environmental disaster. Christopher D'Elia, a specialist in oil spills and professor emeritus at Louisiana State University in the United States, told Al Jazeera that the estimated 800,000 barrels of crude on board would amount to a fairly large spill. This spill raises a lot of issues, he noted.

"These illegal tankers don't comply with the 'polluter pays' principle that is the basis for how the US and other developed nations regulate spills," D'Elia said to Al Jazeera. In the United States, the responsible party must finance cleanup costs. In this case, there is no responsible party. Who pays when the rules are broken?

Meanwhile, Iranian media reported on Wednesday that a separate oil spill in the Strait of Hormuz had reached Qeshm island. This slick affected beaches and an environmentally sensitive mangrove forest. State-run news agency IRNA said the pollution hit areas on Qeshm's southern coast as well as parts of the smaller neighbouring island of Hengam. Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei stated that pollution had been observed at three locations and on the sea surface. He added that its source seemed to be a foreign bulk carrier without specifying the ship's name.

The risk of oil spills in the Gulf has risen sharply because of strikes on tankers during the five-month US-Iran war. The International Maritime Organization reported 65 incidents in the Strait of Hormuz and across the Middle East since the beginning of March. Any party that benefits from commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is legally and morally obligated to take action to compensate for and remedy the environmental damage caused to the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, Baghaei said. The impact on local communities and economies could be severe if cleanup efforts fail or stall.