Oil spill is a serious environmental hazard which poses a substantial threat to nature. It still stands out as a voluminous problem which mankind has failed to tackle efficiently. In this study, the use of carbon nanotubes (CNT) sponge is proposed to cleanup the oil slick on oceanic waters. Carbon nanotubes, unlike any other sorbent material used conventionally in oil spill cleanup, provide a much greater oil sorption capacity. The maximum oil sorption capacity of the carbon nanotubes is experimentally found out to be 93.2 g/g. This is almost 12 times greater than any other material employed for the same. In addition to this, the CNT shows superhydrophobicity and outstanding oleophilicity which enables it to absorb only oil from an oil–water interface. Astonishingly, the material exhibits excellent tensile strength due to the honeycomb lattice composed of hexagonal carbon unit cells, which enables it to maintain its integrity even in rough waters. It exhibits good magnetic properties which can be utilized in its recovery. Recovery of absorbed oil is surprisingly effortless and can be achieved by simply squeezing the sponge. Once the oil has been squeezed off, the sponge is fit for reuse. This advantage of reusability aids it to be cost efficient and eco-friendly. The introduction of this technique in oil spill cleanup would open new horizons for recovery of spilled oil from the seas and help combat pollution.