Greenpeace warns of potential environmental disaster as oil tankers collide near Strait of Hormuz
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A collision between two oil tankers just east of the world's most critical oil choke point, the Strait of Hormuz, could bring about a potential environmental disaster, Greenpeace said on Thursday.
The two giant tankers, ADALYNN and Front Eagle, crashed Tuesday in the Gulf of Oman and caught fire before the Emirati national guard intervened to evacuate crew members. No injuries were reported, according to Emirati authorities.
Satellite data from NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System showed heat signatures in the area early Tuesday morning.
Greenpeace said it had reviewed satellite imagery that showed a plume of oil stretching up to about 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres) from the crash site. The 23-year-old tanker ADALYNN belonged to a so-called Russian 'shadow fleet' – known to operate older ships below basic security standards – and may have been carrying around 70,000 tons of crude oil, the group said.
'This is just one of many dangerous incidents to take place in the past years,' said Farah Al Hattab of Greenpeace's Middle East and North Africa division, adding that such oil spills 'endanger marine life.'
The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure did not respond to a request for comment.
It was not immediately clear what caused Tuesday's incident. British maritime security firm Ambrey said it was unrelated to fighting between Israel and nearby Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, near where the collision took place, is the strategic maritime entryway to the Persian Gulf and sees about a fifth of the world's oil pass through it, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In 2024, an average of 20 million barrels of oil traveled through it daily.
After Israel launched airstrikes against Iran on June 13, oil prices surged as worry mounted over whether the Islamic Republic might block the waterway.
Maritime ship experts say shipowners are increasingly wary of using the waterway, with some ships having tightened security and others canceling routes there. As the Israel-Iran conflict intensified over the weekend, hundreds of ships in the strait saw spotty navigation signals and had to rely more on radar.
The Financial Times reported on June 13 that the world's largest publicly listed oil tanker company, Frontline – which owns the Front Eagle oil tanker involved in Tuesday's crash – said it would turn down new contracts to sail into the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz.
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