Overview
- Satellite images and verified videos show thick oil washing ashore on Qeshm Island after a vessel was hit, with analysts tracing the contamination to the Liberia‑flagged bulk carrier Minoan Pioneer that was struck on 3 August.
- The visible slick covered hundreds of square kilometres in mid‑August and SkyTruth estimated the Qeshm leak at well over 100,000 US gallons based on colour and extent of the oil on 10 August.
- Iran’s foreign ministry said evidence points to a foreign bulk ship and local officials reported shoreline clean‑up had largely cleared affected beaches by Wednesday evening while monitoring continues.
- Separately, the grounded Suezmax tanker Caroline Bezengi has been leaking Russian crude off Oman since June and satellite analysis shows a far larger slick that has reached Omani shorelines and resisted full containment.
- Salvage access, unclear ownership and EU/UK sanctions complicate response and compensation, and experts warn both incidents threaten mangroves, coral, turtle nesting sites and the livelihoods of local fishers.