Shadow Fleet Tanker Appears to Spill Oil off Coast of Oman.

[00:00:01]Shadow fleet tanker appears to spill oil off the coast of Oman.

[00:00:05]This is from the Maritime Executive and it was published on July the 20th, 2026.

[00:00:12]A Russian shadow fleet tanker that reported an explosion a month ago appears to have spilled a substantial quantity of oil at a position off the coast of Oman likely polluting an environmentally sensitive area based on evidence from remote sensing and reports of the vessel's location and identity, it is possible that the tanker may be aground.

[00:00:36]The voyage in question began in the Black Sea in May the 160,000 DWT Suezmax Caroline Benghazi departed Russia bound for India in a laden condition.

[00:00:49]On June 8th, while transiting off the south coast of Oman, the crew broadcast a VHF call and reported that they had experienced a suspected bomb attack.

[00:01:01]Her AIS signal disappeared 3 days later and has not been revived since.

[00:01:07]Video footage obtained by Reuters appears to show the vessel remaining just off an island about 25 nautical miles south of Sarabati, Oman.

[00:01:17]Satellite imaging appears to show an oil slick accumulating on the southern side of the island confirmed to Reuters by three separate experts in remote sensing and pollution assessment.

[00:01:30]Visual and shortwave infrared shows that a large ship is located about 300 yards off a rocky headland.

[00:01:38]The vessel's heading and position appears to have remained unchanged from at least June the 23rd through through July the 18th.

[00:01:47]It measures roughly 280 m long and 50 to 60 m wide equivalent to the Caroline Benghazi's dimensions.

[00:01:58]Taken together, the vessel's lack of movement, the chartered foul water around the headland, and the proximity to shore, and the recent evidence of a spill all suggest that the vessel may be in contact with the bottom.

[00:02:13]Oman's security and environmental agencies have not responded to Reuters request for comment.

[00:02:18]The status of the crew is unknown.

[00:02:21]The aging 2001 built vessel is owned and operated by a firm in Shanghai.

[00:02:27]She has the typical hallmarks of a shadow fleet ship, a history of trade with Russia, a false flag registration, a withdrawn class certification, and a past management history with Russian state ownership.

[00:02:43]Her original name until 2020 was SCF Altai.

[00:02:50]Who knows what's going on here?

[00:02:54]But, this might be very, very bad. It's very hard to say. There's very little information, and nothing is confirmed.

[00:03:02]But, it looks like this oil tanker is leaking a substantial amount of oil.

[00:03:09]And, that's never a good thing, no matter where it is.

[00:03:14]Hopefully, the crew is okay.

[00:03:17]And, hopefully, somebody's already responding to this.

[00:03:20]Has this been going on since June?

[00:03:23]Kind of hard to believe that for sure, but this day and age, you never really know.

[00:03:29]Especially in this part of the world.

[00:03:33]It's just an insane world right now. Why would you blow up a fully loaded tanker?

[00:03:42]It doesn't make any sense to me, but then again, most of what's going on with these tankers makes no sense.

[00:03:50]Hopefully, the crew is okay.

[00:03:53]And, hopefully, there's no spill at all.

[00:03:55]But it doesn't look good, that's for sure.

[00:03:57]All right, guys. There it is. As always, thanks for watching. If you're new here and you like these kind of videos, don't forget to subscribe before you leave.

[00:04:05]And I'll see you on the next one.