Two slicks appear in Gulf as huge oil spill off Oman threatens disaster
One slick appeared off the southern tip of Weshm Island, while a smaller one was spotted near Sirri Island in the center of the Gulf.
Two slicks have emerged in Iranian waters, verified by satellite imagery and video, as tensions between Iran and the United States result in attacks on oil tankers and vessels, raising fears of environmental harm in the Gulf. A grounded tanker, the Caroline Bezengi, off Oman is leaking Russian crude oil into a protected marine area, creating a vast slick, reportedly spanning 2,000 square kilometers.
This incident is not linked to the Iran-US conflict. One slick has appeared off Qeshm Island's southern tip, a large island in the Strait of Hormuz near Iran's coast. Satellite images from Copernicus's Sentinel-2 satellites showed a dark, bubbling liquid washing ashore on Qeshm Island's beaches, a stark contrast to the surrounding turquoise water.
John Amos, CEO of SkyTruth, described this as the largest slick observed in recent months since the Iran-US conflict began. Satellite imagery revealed a second slick near Sirri Island, around 100 km southwest of Qeshm, housing some Iranian offshore oil and gas production. The Qeshm Island slick is believed to have originated from the Minoan Pioneer, a Liberia-flagged dry bulk ship that was hit by an unknown projectile close to Oman's coast on August 3 during a suspected Iranian attack.
One sailor went missing in the incident. The same leak is likely affecting Qeshm Island, according to a maritime security source. Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed in a post on X that oil pollution from the Gulf had reached Qeshm Island, suggesting a foreign bulk carrier as the source. However, Reuters could not independently verify the cause of either slick or identify the substances involved.
A salvage operation for the Minoan Pioneer, who declined to be identified, reported that a tugboat could not approach the grounded vessel due to issues with obtaining permission from Iranian authorities. The ongoing conflict has complicated efforts to assess and clean up spills in the Gulf, according to Brian Barnes, a satellite oceanographer at the University of South Florida.
The longer the oil leaks into the environment, the more it can spread and harm ecosystems and coastlines.
Written by urgent.news from Jerusalem Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
