Oil from tanker grounded off Oman has started reaching mainland, UN agency says

Oil from a vast slick leaking from ‌the grounded tanker Caroline Bezengi is ​reported ⁠to be reaching Oman's mainland, the ‌UN's shipping ‌agency said on Wednesday.

"Oil is drifting offshore to the northeast of (Oman's) Al-Qibliyyah Island, ‌with some oil reported to be reaching ⁠the mainland. Oil spill contingency planning is in place," a spokesperson at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) said.

The slick off a nature reserve in Oman has created ​a slick covering almost 400 square ‌kilometres, the country's government said on Monday.

A satellite image shows the Caroline Bezengi, a sanctioned vessel, appeared to be covered in a coat of algae, off the coast of the Dhofar Governorate, Oman. File/Reuters

The tanker was carrying around 800,000 barrels ⁠of oil from Russia bound for Asia grounded off the coast of Oman on ​June ‌30 and is around 22 nautical ‌miles off Oman's fishing village of Sharbithat, the IMO spokesperson said.

"Oil has been ‌leaking from ‌the vessel for ⁠some time. The seasonal monsoon has ‌limited access to the vessel and delayed salvage operations," the IMO ⁠spokesperson said, adding that ​the agency was closely monitoring the leak.

Reuters