How Iran war oil spills are threatening Gulf marine life, tourism and coastal communities

LONDON: Satellite images released this week reveal the shocking scale of oil spills in and around the Gulf caused by attacks on tankers since the Iran war began at the end of February.

The cost, say experts, is devastating — to fisheries, delicate marine environments and vulnerable species, economies reliant on tourism and, potentially, freshwater supplies dependent on coastal desalination plants.

More than 130 vessels are known to have been attacked in the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman since the Iran war began. Yet the true cost of the war at sea has not been fully appreciated.

Now Greenpeace, in collaboration with maritime tracking organization Kpler, has released data showing that since the conflict began on Feb.