Iran Raises Alarm Over Oil Spill in Strait of Hormuz
TEHRAN: On Thursday, Iran voiced concerns about environmental damage in the Strait of Hormuz following an oil spill that reached its southern Qeshm island. The country’s officials are demanding compensation from those deemed responsible.
Esmaeil Baqaei, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, stated that the oil slick has polluted the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. He suggested that initial evidence points to a foreign bulk carrier as the source of the spill.
However, a website called Tanker Trackers, which monitors global shipping movements, reported that the oil spill seems to have originated from an Iranian attack on the bulk carrier Minoan Pioneer in Omani waters on August 3, stating that the oil then drifted across the strait into Iranian territory.
Baqaei took to social media platform X to highlight the significant damage such spills have caused to Iran’s coastal regions over the years, estimating the losses to be in the trillions of dollars. He insisted that every party involved in commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has a legal and moral responsibility to address the environmental damage caused.
In related developments, Habib Masihi, head of the environmental protection department in Hormozgan province, noted that while the spill had reached Qeshm island, it was nearly cleaned up by Wednesday evening. He reported that around 32,000 square meters of coastal area and 90,000 square meters of water had been contaminated.
Sheena Ansari, the head of Iran’s Environmental Protection Organisation, emphasized that the pollution off Qeshm is merely a reflection of the broader environmental crisis plaguing the region’s marine ecosystem. She raised questions about who should bear the responsibility for the damages, pointing to countries consuming energy exports from the area and those involved in military actions nearby.
Iran has maintained control over the Strait of Hormuz since the conflict in the Middle East escalated on February 28, leading to disturbances in the passage of ships carrying energy exports from allied countries. The Iranian government intends to implement navigational fees for passing vessels to fund environmental protection services, a move opposed by the United States and some regional nations.
The recent spill follows another incident involving oil pollution near Oman, where a tanker ran aground, reportedly damaged by explosions, and had been stranded for weeks near Al-Qibliyyah island.
