A suspected oil spill stretching across dozens of square kilometres has been detected near Iran's crucial oil export terminal at Kharg Island, according to satellite imagery reviewed by Reuters.
Images captured between May 6 and May 8 by Europe's Copernicus Sentinel satellites appeared to show a large grey-and-white slick west of the island, which handles nearly 90% of Iran's crude exports — much of it destined for China.
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“The slick appears visually consistent with oil,” Leon Moreland, a researcher at the Conflict and Environment Observatory, told Reuters. He estimated the affected area at roughly 45 square kilometres.
Louis Goddard, co-founder of consultancy Data Desk, also assessed the imagery as likely showing an oil spill and said it could be among the largest incidents recorded since the US-Israel conflict involving Iran escalated around 70 days ago.
The exact source and cause of the suspected spill remain unclear. Moreland noted that satellite images from May 8 did not indicate any continuing active discharge into the Gulf waters.
The development comes amid intensifying tensions in the region, with the US Navy enforcing a blockade aimed at restricting Iranian tanker movements, while clashes between Iranian and US forces continue in the Gulf.
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Kharg Island has previously been targeted during the conflict, with US forces claiming strikes on military-linked infrastructure near the export hub earlier in the war.
The ongoing conflict has severely disrupted global energy flows, stranding hundreds of vessels in the Gulf and impacting supplies of crude oil, refined petroleum products and liquefied natural gas worldwide.
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