Russian oil tanker spill spreads across Arabian Sea protected area

A Russian oil tanker ran aground off the coast of Oman in June and is still leaking crude oil into the Arabian Sea. The ship, called Caroline Bezengi, was carrying around one million barrels of oil to India when it became stranded. The oil slick now covers up to 600 square kilometres of sea. It has already reached one island and about 40 kilometres of mainland beach. The area is home to sea turtles, coral reefs, seagrass, endangered seabirds, and rare humpback whales. Oman made the nearby Hallaniyat Islands a protected marine reserve last year. The tanker is about seven kilometres from the coast, and oil continues to leak from it.