Is the Strait of Hormuz a ticking environmental time bomb?
A major oil spill in the Gulf could damage fragile marine habitats, leading to dire consequences for the region, conservationists warn
The risks of environmental calamity in the Strait of Hormuz are mounting with each passing week of the Iran conflict, conservationists have warned, as giant tankers filled with fuel are trapped in a small area and Iran continues to fire missiles and drones at Gulf oil assets.
The potential for catastrophe in the waterway was sharpened on Monday when a Kuwaiti crude tanker was set ablaze at Dubai Port in an Iranian attack that damaged its hull, sparking warnings of a possible oil spill.
The Strait of Hormuz, a neck of water between Iran and Oman, is critical for oil and gas exports and nitrogen-based fertilisers from Gulf producers – including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates – to Asia and beyond.
Greenpeace International has said that with at least 21 billion litres of oil trapped on tankers there, a major spill in the Gulf could damage fragile marine habitats, leading to dire consequences for people, animals and plants in the region.
The Gulf’s waters are home to seagrass meadows and coral habitats that support one of the world’s largest dugong populations, as well as the endangered Indian Ocean humpback dolphins.
Marine scientists say the danger lies not only in the volume of oil now concentrated in the conflict-hit waterway but also in the Gulf’s geography, which makes it especially ill-suited to absorb a major spill.