More Middle East Trouble: Massive Oil Leak Discovered In Ocean Near Strait Of Hormuz

Two oil slicks have appeared in Iranian waters inside the Gulf, according to satellite imagery, with one spotted off the southern tip of Qeshm Island near the Strait of Hormuz.

A smaller oil slick has also appeared near Sirri Island over 60 miles southwest of Qeshm in the center of the Gulf, where Iranian offshore oil and gas production takes place, according to Reuters. 

The imagery of the Qeshm slick was taken on August 10. The Sirri imagery is from August 13.

These new slicks arrive as attacks on oil tankers and other vessels by Iran and the United States raise concerns about environmental damage across the Gulf. A separate, larger spill is already unfolding outside the Strait of Hormuz off Oman. 

The grounded tanker Caroline Bezengi is leaking Russian crude into a protected marine area, creating a slick some estimates put at nearly 800 square miles. That incident has not been connected to the conflict with Iran.

On the Qeshm spill, environmental open-source researcher Wim Zwijnenburg of the Dutch peace organization PAX noted that the dark color in parts of the slick pointed to heavy fuel oil. A lighter, diluted portion of the slick stretched about 100 miles.

Video verified by Reuters and posted on August 11 shows a dark bubbling liquid washing up on the beaches of Suza on Qeshm Island, staining the turquoise water surrounding it. 

John Amos, CEO of SkyTruth, which tracks oil spills with satellite imagery, described the Qeshm slick as significant. “This is the biggest one that I’ve seen in recent months really since the conflict between Iran and the U.S. began,” Amos said, calling it “a major incident.”

Samir Madani, co-founder of TankerTrackers.com, said the Qeshm Island slick likely occurred from a leak on the Minoan Pioneer, a Liberia-flagged dry bulk carrier. The ship was struck by an unknown projectile near Oman’s coast in a suspected Iranian attack on August 3 while transiting the Strait of Hormuz. One seafarer went missing, and a maritime security source told Reuters the same leak likely reached Qeshm Island as well.

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Esmaeil Baqaei, posted on X that oil pollution from the Gulf had reached Qeshm Island and evidence “indicates a foreign bulk carrier as the source.”

Reuters said it could not independently confirm the cause of either slick or identify the substances involved.

A source affiliated with the salvage operation for the Minoan Pioneer, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters on Friday that a tugboat sent to secure the grounded vessel could not approach it due to permission issues from Iranian authorities. The Iranian Mission in Geneva did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Brian Barnes, a satellite oceanographer and research assistant professor at the University of South Florida, said the regional conflict has made it more difficult to assess and clean up spills in the Gulf. “The longer that the oil is leaking into an environment, the more it can spread out and cause damage to ecosystems and coastlines.”