Oil Offload Imminent for Wrecked Tanker Caroline Bezengi
An offload operation appears to be imminent at the site of the shipwrecked tanker Caroline Bezengi, which is stranded on the rocks off the southwestern tip of the island of Jazirat Al Qibliyyah, Oman.
The Cameroon-flagged Caroline Bezengi remains firmly stuck, having drifted ashore after she was hit off Yemen on June 8 by what is believed to have been a limpet mine attack. The tanker is sanctioned by the EU, UK and US (OFAC), and has had a past association with Russian state shipowner Sovcomflot. The crewmembers were 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).
Since coming ashore, the appointed salvor Ambrey Salvage first monitored the condition of the tanker, identifying that it was settling and developing a further list, and also worked to reduce oil leakage. Leaks were stopped up about two weeks ago, likely as a consequence of pumping oil from leaking to intact tanks. The work was facilitated by the end of the Khareef monsoon season: With wave and wind conditions now relatively calm and stable, and likely to remain so for the next week, emptying the remaining tanks can now commence. The effort will protect the Hallaniyat Islands Marine Buffer Zone with its endangered species of Arabian Sea humpback whale, spinner and Risso’s dolphins, unique seabirds and loggerhead turtles from further oil pollution. It could also recover what could be as much as 650,000 barrels of crude that, once dewatered, could be worth about $50 million.
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As of November 9, appearing just to the west of the island and the stricken Caroline Bezengi, both on AIS tracking systems and with a tanker of similar 240-meter length visible in satellite imagery, is the Maltese-flagged Aframax crude tanker Hydra (IMO 9294551). A second tanker may also be present, as are two tugs and an MPSV.
If and when the oil transfer is completed, the salvor may still be considering whether the empty tanker is lightened enough to be floated off. But otherwise the disposal of a heavily polluted wreck will be a residual problem that the Omani government will need to consider.
