Aug 14 (Reuters): Two large oil slicks have appeared in Iranian waters, satellite imagery and video verified by Reuters show, as retaliatory attacks on oil tankers and merchant vessels between Iran and the United States raise severe concerns over widespread environmental degradation in the Gulf region.
Simultaneously, a potential ecological disaster is escalating off the coast of Oman, just outside the Strait of Hormuz. The grounded tanker Caroline Bezengi is actively leaking sanctioned Russian crude oil into a marine protected area, creating a massive slick estimated to span nearly 2,000 square kilometers.
Near the Dolphin-Shaped Island
Satellite images captured by Copernicus’s Sentinel-2 revealed the first slick off the southern tip of Qeshm Island, a prominent dolphin-shaped island located in the Strait of Hormuz near Iran’s coastline.
Wim Zwijnenburg, an open-source environmental researcher at the Dutch peace organisation PAX, noted that the dark coloration within parts of the slick indicates heavy fuel oil, accompanied by a lighter, diluted sheen stretching over 160 kilometers.
A video posted on August 11 and verified by Reuters showed a dark, bubbling liquid washing ashore on Suza Beach on Qeshm Island, heavily polluting its turquoise waters. John Amos, CEO of satellite tracking firm SkyTruth, described it as “the biggest one I’ve seen in recent months since the US-Iran conflict escalated,” classifying it as a major environmental incident.
A second slick was identified near Sirri Island—located roughly 100 km southwest of Qeshm—which serves as a key hub for Iranian offshore oil and gas production. Imagery of Qeshm was taken on August 10, while Sirri Island was captured on August 13.
Dry Bulk Carrier Attacked
Samir Madani, co-founder of TankerTrackers.com, indicated that the slick near Qeshm Island likely originated from a leak on the Liberia-flagged dry bulk carrier Minoan Pioneer.
The vessel was struck by an unknown projectile near the Omani coast during a suspected Iranian attack while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on August 3, leaving one crew member missing. Maritime security sources confirmed that this same leak likely reached Qeshm Island.
Esmaeil Baqaei, spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, posted on X that oil pollution had reached Qeshm Island, adding that preliminary findings point to a foreign bulk carrier as the source. However, Reuters could not independently verify the exact cause or chemical composition of the slicks.
A salvage source involved with the Minoan Pioneer revealed that a dispatched tugboat could not approach the damaged ship due to delays and complications in securing regulatory permissions from Iranian authorities. Iran’s diplomatic mission in Geneva did not respond to requests for comment.
Brian Barnes, a satellite oceanographer at the University of South Florida, warned that regional hostilities are heavily impeding cleanup and assessment efforts. “The longer oil continues leaking into the marine environment, the farther it spreads, causing catastrophic damage to fragile coastal ecosystems,” he warned.
with input from Reuters
For more details: Navamalayalam.com