Caroline Bezengi Oil Leaks Off Oman Have Been Halted
The salvage operation to recover the Aframax tanker Caroline Bezengi (IMO 9224439) and its remaining cargo appears to have achieved its first major success. Even the slight traces of oil that were leaking from the wreck last week appear to have disappeared, on the basis of analysis of satellite imagery covering the scene on October 26.
The Cameroon-flagged Caroline Bezengi remains firmly stuck on the rocks off the southwest tip of Jazirat Al Qibliyyah, having been hit while off the coast of Yemen on June 8 by what is believed to have been a limpet mine attack. The tanker is sanctioned by the EU, the UK, and the US (OFAC), and has had a past association with Russian state shipowner Sovcomflot.
The Russian permanent representative to the IMO in London has said that it is “pointless” to speculate on the categorization of the Caroline Bezengi as a Russian dark fleet vessel, referencing the registration details of the vessel, which indicate that it has all the hallmarks of a Russian dark fleet vessel.
The Caroline Bezengi off Jazirat Al Qibliyyah on October 26 (Sentinel-2c)
Neither Ambrey, coordinating the salvage operation, nor the Omani Ministry of Transport, Communications and IT, have issued an update on the salvage operation. Wind and sea state are now perfect for salvage operations: seas are light, with a wind speed of 2.34m/s blowing to the northwest, and with a moderate swell, and the prevailing conditions look set for the next week. The oil leakage is likely to have been brought under control by pumping oil out of leaking tanks into those on board that are still intact. Oil pumps were pictured last month being helicoptered onto the deck of the stricken tanker by the Royal Air Force of Oman.
RAFO NH90 winching pumps onto the raised deck at the stern of the Caroline Bezengi
that matters most
Get the latest maritime news delivered to your inbox daily.
There are a number of familiar vessels stationed off the Caroline Bezengi, but no sign yet of an offtake tanker that could be used to begin unloading what remains of the oil left in tanks aboard the vessel. With oil now well over $100 barrel, the value of the remaining cargo has probably appreciated in value since the wreck occurred in early June. The EDT-operated Multi-Purpose Offshore Vessel EDT Kennedy (IMO 9671400) is indicating on AIS that it left Duqm on October 22, and a vessel of that length is now off Al Qibliyyah. The Dutch-flagged tug Jif Vanguard (IMO 6688673) has been showing up in AIS also as hove to close to the wreck. It is unlikely, but still possible with some lightening of its load, that the ship can be floated off. But as it has settled since its initial stranding, it is likely to have impaled itself onto rocks and experienced further damage. Just emptying the Caroline Bezengi of oil, in contrast, will still leave the wreck upon the rocks.
The Caroline Bezengi had completed a transit of the Suez Canal on May 30 and had left the Maritime Security Transit Corridor when it suffered the limpet mine explosions. The tanker was laden with oil taken on at Novorossiysk and was destined for Gujarat. The crew was taken off without injury some four days after the explosion, reportedly by another sanctioned and Russian-connected dark fleet tanker, the Aruba-flagged Noble Walker (IMO 9292981), which was also en route to India with Russian oil aboard.
