Cameroon-flagged tanker draws Africa into Russia’s shadow-fleet trade after spilling oil off Oman

The Caroline Bezengi, identified by IMO number 9224439, was carrying about 800,000 barrels of Russian crude from Novorossiysk through the Suez Canal toward Asia before running aground off Oman’s coast in June.

The tanker is registered under the Cameroon flag, giving the incident a direct African connection, although maritime reports have raised questions over the status of its registration.

According to the Oman Observer, Director General of Maritime Affairs at Oman’s Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Rawahi, said efforts had been intensified from the outset to limit the potential environmental impact of the grounding.

The response is being conducted with national authorities and international experts, including British maritime security and risk-management company Ambrey

Difficult weather and sea conditions have complicated the operation, with winds reaching around 40 knots and waves rising to about four metres, making access to the vessel by sea or air challenging.

Specialist firms, including international oil-response company OSRL and Oman-based BISCO, have also been brought in to support containment and cleanup operations.

Oman has prepared pollution-control materials, including rubber containment booms, spill-response equipment and chemical dispersants, while a specialised vessel has been assigned to transport and deploy the equipment at the site.

The Caroline Bezengi has itself been sanctioned by Western governments over its involvement in transporting Russian oil. Its flag history shows that the vessel moved between several registries before being listed under Cameroon in November 2025.

The use of an African flag on a tanker carrying sanctioned Russian crude highlights the increasingly international nature of the trade.

Vessels involved in the movement of Russian oil can have ownership, management and registration links spanning several jurisdictions, making responsibility and enforcement more difficult.

However, the Cameroon connection does not establish that the Cameroonian government authorised or participated in sanctions evasion. The African link in this case is primarily the vessel’s flag registration.

In July, Business Insider Africa reported that Cameroon had removed 39 vessels from its national ship registry after an investigation found they were fraudulently operating under the country’s flag as part of Russia’s “shadow fleet.”

Cameroon’s Transport Ministry said it was working with international partners to protect the integrity of its maritime registry and combat illegal vessel registrations. It also said the country could not be held responsible for the activities of vessels after they were removed from the registry.

The vessel which is currently stranded near a protected marine area, is part of the wider network of tankers described as Russia’s shadow fleet, which has been used to transport Russian oil despite Western sanctions.

The spill, which has reached Oman coastline has been estimated at between hundreds and more than 2,000 square kilometres, with endangered Arabian Sea humpback whales and Socotra cormorants among the wildlife at risk.