Story thread · 2 reports / 2 sources

Oil leak pollutes Oman beaches and closes in on largest island

thenationalnews.com · 4h · first reportShare

An oil leak off Oman has begun contaminating beaches as it edges closer to shore, officials revealed on Wednesday. Oil has been spilling from a stricken tanker, the Caroline Bezengi, after an explosion brought it to a standstill near Oman's Hallaniyat islands. With the oil slick drifting northwards, mainland Oman has not escaped unscathed. Monitoring results on Wednesday showed beaches in the Ras Madrakah area have been affected by contamination. Oman's Environment Authority expects the contamination to stretch along a 40km section of coastline. The southern beaches of Masirah island, Oman's largest, could also be affected “in the coming hours”, the authority said early on Wednesday evening. Masirah is popular with wildlife enthusiasts who come to watch turtles nesting and hatching. It said specialists were working to limit the spread with a focus on " areas of high environmental sensitivity”. There are concerns over habitats, coral reef and turtle-nesting grounds in the area. The auth