First public satellite image (Landsat) showing a slick in the water next to the grounded tanker Caroline Bezengi off Oman on June 30:
John Amos
@johnamos.bsky.social
Earth observer, tree hugger, hiker/biker/landscape lover.
First public satellite images (Landsat, Sentinel-2) showing stricken tanker Caroline Bezengi grounded at its present location, June 22 and 23:
Major oil spill underway off Oman: Sentinel-1 radar satellite images showing oil slick from the grounded oil tanker Caroline Bezengi on July 27 (left) and August 7 (right). No sign of any response or salvage activity.
This August 2 Sentinel-2 satellite image shows oil streaming downwind more than 70km from the grounded oil tanker Caroline Bezengi, indicating this oil spill off Oman's coast is getting worse. Where is the response?
Caroline Bezengi grounded and leaking oil tanker off Oman. Sentinel-2 satellite images taken July 13 (left) and July 28 (right).
Update on the grounded dark-fleet oil tanker Caroline Bezengi off Oman: the situation is rapidly getting worse. More at www.linkedin.com/posts/john-a...
Update on grounded and leaking dark-fleet oil tanker Caroline Bezengi off Oman: Sentinel-1 radar image on July 26 shows 40km oil slick extending from the stricken vessel. No sign of response or salvage vessels on scene.
Sentinel-2 image taken yesterday (July 23) shows situation essentially unchanged. Tanker still at same location; silvery sheen indicates relatively minor ongoing oil leak.Wind still generally blowing from south-southwest >50km/hr. More at www.linkedin.com/posts/john-a...
Update on grounded shadow fleet tanker Caroline Bezengi off Oman: Sentinel-2 satellite image taken July 18 shows continued presence of likely oil slick (light silvery-grey in color) adjacent to stricken vessel. Winds still >50km/hr. More on linkedin: www.linkedin.com/posts/john-a...
Sentinel-2 satellite image two days ago shows persistent slick next to grounded tanker off Oman. Looks like an ongoing spill in a marine protected area, with no apparent response underway. 50km/hr winds are blowing there now. How long can the hull hold up?
A striking Sentinel-1 radar satellite image from SkyTruth Monitor, showing wake-like pattern coming from islands off Oman. Very strong (50km/hr) uniform wind blowing from the south-southwest. Fluid dynamics folks: is this the sea-surface expression of vortex shedding in the lee of these islands?
Here's a clearer view of the grounded vessel and possible oil slick off Oman, taken yesterday (July 8). More at www.linkedin.com/posts/john-a...
Russian "shadow fleet" tanker aground off Oman in a marine protected area. Satellite image on July 5 shows a vessel and possible oil slick. More at www.linkedin.com/posts/john-a...
A sanctioned Russian "shadow fleet" tanker, the Caroline Bezengi [https://lnkd.in/equsa28M], has run aground on a small island off the coast of Oman within a marine protected area, the Arabi...
A sanctioned Russian "shadow fleet" tanker, the Caroline Bezengi [https://lnkd.in/equsa28M], has run aground on a small island off the coast of Oman within a marine protected area, the Arabian Sea Res...
linkedin.com
Planet satellite image captures slick from 33,000 gallon oil spill at LOOP import terminal off Louisiana. AIS tracking data indicates the last vessel to use the terminal before the spill was a supertanker (Marlin Sardinia) that came from and returned to Venezuela.
Zombie facilities from the fracking boom are another pollution risk. Latest example: www.pennlive.com/news/2025/08...
Oily substance from tank in closed Pa. facility leaks into the Susquehanna River
The oil flowed down a ramp outside the building into a storm drain, eventually getting into the river a short distance away where it was discovered by fishermen.
pennlive.com
Celebrating the recovery of a river: www.nytimes.com/2025/06/17/u...
First Time in 100 Years: Young Kayakers on a Ride for the Ages
nytimes.com
The SkyTruth tech team is working to solve an urgent climate problem: detecting plumes of methane from offshore oil platforms and other facilities: skytruth.org/2025/08/brea...
Breaking Ground in Offshore Methane Detection
Finding methane plumes in the vast ocean using satellite innovation In July 2025, we ran a focused four week Research and Development (R&D) sprint to test how open-access satellite imagery cou…
skytruth.org
The Shadow Fleet Crisis: highlighting the increasing maritime security and environmental threat posed by the growing "dark fleet" of oil tankers at sea: sevenseasmedia.org/shadow-fleet... More on SkyTruth's related work: skytruth.org/section/brin...
The Shadow Fleet Crisis: When Ocean Conservation Meets Global Security
An unprecedented maritime environmental threat demands urgent, coordinated action. By Mark J. Spalding, J.D. In the vast expanse of our global ocean, a new environmental crisis is unfolding that deman...
sevenseasmedia.org
Glad to see NISAR finally get off the ground. And - at last! - the US has a civilian radar satellite in orbit once again, in partnership with India. It's been a long time since Seasat (disco inferno, anyone?): earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/15461...
Advanced U.S.-India Radar Mission Lifts Off
The NISAR satellite will detect the movement of land and ice surfaces with centimeter precision, aiding in a range of applications from disaster response and infrastructure monitoring to agricultural ...
earthobservatory.nasa.gov
This is why SkyTruth built Cerulean to automatically detect oil pollution and name those responsible: the first critical step toward finally bringing an end to intentional oil pollution at sea. www.theguardian.com/business/202... Try out Cerulean: skytruth.org/cerulean/
Only 0.5% of 90,000 oil slicks reported over five-year period, analysis finds
Pollution incidents reported between 2014 and 2019 were compared against scientific study that used satellite imagery to count slicks
theguardian.com
My first job was in PA, monitoring (taxpayer-funded!) cleanup efforts at abandoned, unplugged oil and gas wells that regularly blurped up waxy, oily produced water and methane. This is a national problem, and the more we drill, the bigger this problem is going to get: www.npr.org/2025/07/07/n...
Defunct oil wells are a national problem. Finding them is the first step
There could be about a million 'orphan' oil and gas wells across the U.S. As they age, they can leak greenhouse gases or unhealthy chemicals.
npr.org
Well 59 blowout on the Gulf coast: This photo provided by USCG shows a response boat spraying something into the blowout plume on April 30. There is no fire to extinguish, so I wonder if they are spraying chemical dispersants on the plume. www.dvidshub.net/image/900603...
"Zombie" wells = ticking time bombs. Did one just go off in the Gulf? www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...
Nice to see SkyTruth's antipollution tool Cerulean getting some good exposure during the Our Ocean Conference: oceanographicmagazine.com/news/offshor...
Offshore oil platform pollution exposed in world-first for ocean - Oceanographic
A new report - launched to coincide with the Our Ocean Conference - has exposed the world's worst offshore oil polluters for first time.
oceanographicmagazine.com
I share some thoughts as the 10th annual Our Ocean conference gets underway in Busan, with a focus on applying digital tech to achieve sustainability - www.environmentenergyleader.com/stories/seei...
Seeing is Believing: Digital Technology's Critical Role in Ocean Protection - Environment+Energy Leader
A new report shows offshore oil operations continue to pollute the world's oceans, with satellite monitoring exposing oil slicks, methane flaring, and carbon emissions at alarming levels. …
environmentenergyleader.com
I love the landscape and geology of Wyoming, and the spectacular satellite imagery it produces. And, Chugwater Formation! Can't beat it. earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/15417...
Relics of a Red World in Bighorn Basin
Folds of rusted rock neighbor the Bighorn Canyon’s deep scar in the western United States.
earthobservatory.nasa.gov
Earth Day. Every day. Cherish it, celebrate it, protect it fiercely. Especially now. -- Photo credit: NASA/Reid Wiseman. Many more stunning images of our beautiful home at spaceplace.nasa.gov/gallery-eart...
If money = speech (looking at you, SCOTUS), then doesn't private philanthropy has the right to spend their money however they see fit (with exceptions for *legitimate* national security concerns)? www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
US philanthropists warn against capitulating to Trump: ‘We need to step up’
Foundation leaders say charitable organisations could be next in the firing line – but must ‘stand together’ to resist
theguardian.com