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Two Gulf Slicks
Satellite observations analyzed by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) mapped two oil pollution events affecting waters near Qeshm and Hengam islands off southern Iran and the Hallaniyat Islands and adjacent waters off the coast of Dhofar, southern Oman.
“covering approximately 300 km²”
The August 7 satellite observation showed an extensive oil slick near the Hallaniyat Islands covering approximately 300 km², while the August 10 observation near Qeshm and Hengam islands revealed approximately 100 km² of oil-contaminated water.
UNU-INWEH researchers said the slicks off southern coasts of Iran and Oman appear to represent separate events, with oil contamination first reported along Qeshm’s southern shoreline in early August and later reported within the Hara mangrove ecosystem.
Reuters reported that two slicks have appeared in Iranian waters, with a grounded tanker, the Caroline Bezengi, leaking Russian crude oil and creating a massive slick some estimates put at 2,000 square km.
UNU-INWEH Chief Scientist Dr. Manoochehr Shirzaei said, “we can see an environmental disaster developing across hundreds or even thousands of square kilometers of ocean.”
Attribution Disputes
Reuters said the Qeshm Island slick was spotted by Copernicus’s Sentinel-2 satellites and that Wim Zwijnenburg, an environmental open-source researcher at Dutch peace organisation PAX, said the dark colour in parts of the slick indicated it was heavy fuel oil.
Reuters also reported that the Qeshm Island slick likely stemmed from a leak from the Minoan Pioneer, a Liberia-flagged dry bulk ship, which was hit by an unknown projectile close to Oman’s coast in a suspected Iranian attack while sailing through the Strait of Hormuz on August 3.
A spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmaeil Baqaei, said in a post on X that preliminary evidence “indicates a foreign bulk carrier as the source,” while Reuters said it could not independently confirm the cause of either slick.
BBC Verify said satellite imagery suggested the oil spill originated from an attack on a vessel in Omani waters on 3 August and that a week later the apparent fuel leakage from the Minoan Pioneer had spread across a large area of the strait.
John Amos, CEO of Skytruth, described the Qeshm slick as “a major incident,” and said, “This is what I would call a major oil slick.”
Ecosystems and Risk
UNU-INWEH said the location of both events makes their environmental significance greater than their size alone would suggest, noting that Qeshm and Hengam Islands sit at the boundary between the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman and contain extensive coral reefs, tidal flats and mangrove forests.
“The nearby Hara Biosphere Reserve contains the largest Avicennia mangrove ecosystem”
UNU-INWEH said the nearby Hara Biosphere Reserve contains the largest Avicennia mangrove ecosystem along the Persian Gulf shoreline and provides habitat for migratory birds, green turtles, critically endangered hawksbill turtles and numerous marine species.
Reuters warned that the conflict in the region had complicated efforts to assess and clean up spills in the Gulf, quoting Brian Barnes, a satellite oceanographer and research assistant professor at the University of South Florida, saying, “The longer that the oil is leaking into an environment, the more it can spread out and cause damage to ecosystems, coastlines.”
BBC reported that environmental experts say the spill threatens wildlife, protected ecosystems and fishing communities around Qeshm, and that Qeshm is home to mangrove forests, nearby coral reef habitats and nesting sites for critically endangered Hawksbill turtles.
UNU-INWEH Director Professor Kaveh Madani said, “Oil spills do not respect borders, and their impacts can extend far beyond the point of an accident.”
