Major Oil Spill in Persian Gulf After Iranian Crude Transfer Between Aging Tankers

A ship-to-ship transfer of Iranian crude oil between two aging tankers, Fortune Galaxy and Serano II, caused a significant oil spill in the Persian Gulf near the waters of Kuwait, Iraq, and Iran. The spill, covering a five-kilometer area, occurred on September 29-30 and was captured on satellite images.

TankerTrackers, which first reported the incident, estimated the spill to involve around 5 400 barrels of oil. Such spills often go unreported, with industry insiders noting that over 2 000 ship-to-ship transfers by shadow fleet vessels occur annually, frequently leading to routine spills.

These shadow fleets, typically consisting of older and underinsured vessels, handle sanctioned oil from countries like Iran, Russia, and Venezuela. In 2023 alone, nearly 400 million barrels of oil were transferred this way. Despite official statistics citing only a few major spills in the past 25 years, the real number is likely much higher.

The environmental risks have increased with the rise of shadow fleets operating in the Arctic, where over 10 million barrels of Russian crude oil were transferred through the icy waters of the Northern Sea Route this summer.

Some of these ships lack adequate ice-class protection, and sea ice around Wrangel Island required nuclear icebreakers to keep lanes open. Experts warn that allowing such ships to navigate the Arctic poses serious environmental and safety risks.