Ambrey Tapped to Salvage Tanker Caroline Bezengi off Oman

British maritime security company Ambrey said it has been engaged in the salvage of the stricken tanker Caroline Bezengi off the Omani coast and that salvage vessels are en route to support the operation.

The Caroline Bezengi tanker, carrying an estimated 800,000 barrels of Russian oil and under international sanctions, ran aground on June 30 near an Omani marine nature reserve that is home to wildlife including Arabian Sea humpback whales and Socotra cormorants.

Ambrey said it was working with stakeholders in Oman and has contracted a leading international oil spill response firm.

"This is an extremely challenging situation, compounded by adverse weather conditions associated with the Khareef monsoon" Ed Wollaston, director of global response at Ambrey, said.

Oman's Dhofar region experiences the Khareef, an annual season triggered by Indian Ocean monsoon winds that fill the area with steady mist, cool drizzles and intermittent rain.

Oman's environment agency said on Wednesday that a vast oil spill from a leaking tanker had started to hit the country's coastline, threatening to become one of the world's worst in years after spreading largely unchecked for weeks.

The vessel first reported difficulties off Yemen on June 8 after what maritime sources said appeared to be a blast, and no party has claimed an attack as the tanker navigated two separate wars on its journey from Russia to India.

(Reuters)