Calm Seas Favor Salvage Operations at "Shadow Fleet" Tanker Wreck off Oman
Although there have not been any formal updates covering progress, it appears that the salvage activity on the wrecked Aframax tanker Caroline Bezengi (IMO 9224439) is continuing off Yemen’s southeastern coast.
The Caroline Bezengi remains firmly stuck on the rocks off the southwest tip of Jazirat Al Qibliyyah. The tanker is sanctioned by the EU, UK and US (OFAC), and has a past association with Russian state shipowner Sovcomflot.
The tanker had completed a transit of the Suez Canal on May 30 and had left the Maritime Security Transit Corridor when a suspected limpet-mine blast occurred on June 8. The tanker was laden with oil taken on board at Novorossiysk and was destined for Gujarat. The crew was taken off without injury some four days later, reportedly by another sanctioned and Russian-connected dark fleet tanker, the Noble Walker (IMO 9292981), which was also en route to India with Russian oil aboard. Caroline Bezengi continued to drift northeast with the monsoon winds until running aground on June 30.
Post-monsoon season weather appears to have started, with wind speeds on October 8 reported as a comparatively light 11 knots. Swells on October 8 were less than one meter and are expected to remain so for the following week. These mild surface conditions will enable operations on the deck of the tanker, and may enable the next phase of the salvage plan: maneuvering a small tanker close in to the lee of the island to start the offloading process.
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As of October 8, there is no sign yet of an offload operation in progress. On satellite imagery and showing up on AIS on October 8 is the offshore vessel EDT Kennedy (IMO 9671400). There are three other vessels in the vicinity seen in the imagery. With the return of calmer seas, fishing boat activity in the area has now resumed.
The Caroline Bezengi is still leaking oil, and the sheen of a plume can be seen flowing towards the northeast, as seen previously. In the changed and calmer weather conditions, it now also appears to be spreading southeast.
