Oil Spill From Grounded Tanker Reaches Oman Coastline

A vast oil spill from a grounded tanker carrying Russian crude has begun reaching the coastline of Oman, threatening to become one of the world's worst environmental disasters in years after spreading largely unchecked for weeks. The slick, now covering an area of more than 2,000 square kilometers, is impacting a marine nature reserve and could affect up to 40 kilometers of coast near Ras Madraka and Masirah Island, according to Oman's environment agency.

The Caroline Bezengi tanker, which was carrying an estimated 800,000 barrels of Russian oil and was under international sanctions, ran aground on June 30 near an island that is part of the Omani reserve. The vessel first reported difficulties off Yemen on June 8 after what maritime sources said appeared to be a blast. No party has claimed an attack, but the ship was navigating two separate conflicts on its journey from Russia to India. It sailed from the Russian port of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea in April, a flashpoint in the Russia-Ukraine war, before passing through the Suez Canal at the end of May and sailing past Yemen, where Iran-aligned Houthi militants are involved in a wider regional war.