An oil leak off Oman has begun contaminating beaches as it edges closer to shore, officials said 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 the pollution. 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 stretch 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 authority said no one should approach “any spotted materials or pollutants” but instead report them to authorities.
In a previous update on Monday, officials monitoring Oman's seawater said they had found “no cause for concern” regarding desalination plants or coastal land.
A royal decree last year established a “marine buffer zone” around the Hallaniyat islands. Permits are required to fish or conduct research in the area.
Shipping data showed the Caroline Bezengi was loaded with Russian crude before its latest voyage. It last transmitted a signal to public trackers on June 11, off the coast of Yemen.
The ship, sailing under the flag of Cameroon, is under British and European Union sanctions due to suspicions that it had been transporting Russian oil. Speculation about a mine attack by Ukraine has not yet been confirmed, and the fate of the crew is unclear.
