Iran’s top environmental official said Tuesday that a large suspected oil spill near Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf was likely caused by a foreign tanker discharging contaminated ballast water rather than a leak from Iranian oil infrastructure.
Satellite imagery had shown what appeared to be a massive slick stretching across waters west of the island, Iran’s main oil export terminal. Images captured between May 6 and May 8 by the Copernicus Programme Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3 satellites showed a gray-and-white slick spanning several square miles of sea.
Iranian Vice President Shina Ansari said investigations found no evidence of leaks from Iran’s pipelines or offshore oil facilities.
“Our monitoring results show that this spill was caused by the discharge of ballast water contaminated with substances from a non-Iranian tanker,” Ansari said, according to Iranian state media. “No oil leaks have been reported from pipelines or oil facilities.”
Kharg Island plays a critical role in Iran’s oil exports and energy infrastructure, making any environmental incident in the surrounding waters a matter of regional and global concern.
