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A tanker that is part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet and which is under European sanctions is leaking oil into the sea off the coast of Oman, according to expert analysis of satellite imagery.
The Caroline Bezengi, a 274-meter Suezmax vessel, had loaded oil at the Russian port of Novorossiysk, before heading south through the Suez canal on its way to Gujarat in India. But the tanker is now unresponsive, with satellite images suggesting that it is partially submerged, and a “feature consistent with an oil slick appears to extend from her port side,” according to maritime intelligence firm SynMax. The tanker was likely carrying between 800,000 to 1 million barrels of crude, the company told Semafor.
Three independent specialists agreed that the satellite imagery appeared to show an oil spill, according to Reuters.
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Britain, the EU, and others have imposed sanctions on the tanker, which is flagged as Cameroonian, for continuing to carry Russian oil despite restrictions.
To circumvent these sanctions and provide a lifeline to Russia’s wartime economy, Moscow operates a shadow fleet of over 700 older ships with complex ownership structures that have their tracking systems switched off.
In this case, the ship’s owner “appears to be a dead-letter box in a residential block of flats in downtown Shanghai, as is typically found in the registration particulars of Russian dark fleet tankers,” according to shipping journal The Maritime Executive.
Because the vessels are typically at the end of their lifecycle, they are more prone to leakage and malfunction. Several high-profile incidents in recent years have highlighted the risk these ships pose to maritime traffic and the environment. In 2024, an 18-year-old sanctioned tanker ran aground in the Bosphorus after an anchor malfunction, closing the strait to shipping.
It is unclear how the ship became damaged, but sources cited by shipping news service TradeWinds blamed a limpet mine attack by Ukrainian saboteurs.
Oman’s transport ministry previously warned the owners they would face legal action if the stranded vessel and its cargo were not removed from the island by July 23. The ship is close to Al-Qibliyah, one of five islands in the Al Hallaniyat Archipelago, off Oman’s Dhofar coast, inside a protected marine reserve. The waters hold rare coral reef habitat, sea turtle nesting grounds, and a stopover for migratory birds — raising the stakes of any confirmed spill.
But the Caroline Bezengi is not thought to have war risk cover, according to TradeWinds, complicating salvage efforts and pushing the bill for the cleanup, at least initially, onto Oman.
Notable
- A Russian shadow-fleet tanker collided near Denmark in 2024 without spilling oil, but experts have called the uninsured, poorly maintained fleet an “environmental disaster waiting to happen.”
- Five tankers were hit by suspected limpet mine attacks in 2025, all within weeks of calling at Russian ports, though security advisers said “a range of alternative possibilities” remained, the Financial Times reported.