UAE Shuts Shoreline as Tanker Oil Spreads

The United Arab Emirates closed beaches near the northern city of Umm Al Quwain on Thursday after oil from a tanker struck earlier this month began washing ashore. Verified video from Friday showed the water turning black along the coast. The country's Ministry of Climate Change and Environment said it had "immediately began containment" in order to "limit environmental impacts".

The slick traces back to the Panama-flagged Gem No.2. Maritime intelligence firm Vanguard reported the tanker was "struck by an unknown projectile" on 9 October, just north of Al Jazeera Al Hamra, igniting a fire that was later extinguished. The Indian consulate in Dubai said on 11 October that all 22 Indian crew members had been rescued. Iranian state media shared footage of a matching ship ablaze and said the vessel had been trying to leave the Strait of Hormuz by an "unauthorized and dangerous route".

Satellite images from Monday showed the early stages of a spill from a vessel matching the Gem No.2's location and dimensions. By Wednesday the slick stretched more than 35km from the ship. A smaller leak had been visible on 19 October, but radar imagery reviewed by BBC Verify and intelligence firm MAIAR showed it growing rapidly over the following two days.

The spread is moving toward Siniyah and Khor Al Beidah islands, a globally recognised Key Biodiversity Area holding corals, seagrasses and saltmarshes. Green turtles and the critically endangered Halavi guitarfish inhabit these waters. Eoghan Darbyshire, a scientist at the Conflict and Environment Observatory, called the spill's closeness to this area the "most concerning environmental angle".

Prof Steve Widdicombe, director of the Sharjah Marine Science Research Centre, said it was "inevitable that there will be an impact". Researchers said the scale depends on the volume and type of oil, how quickly it breaks down and how the clean-up proceeds. Spills can trap turtles, coat seabird feathers and damage fish gills, while longer exposure to toxic compounds can affect reproduction.

The Gem No.2 was among a record number of ships reported attacked in and around the Strait of Hormuz at the start of October. Security experts told BBC Verify the strikes formed part of an Iranian effort to assert control over the waterway in response to US military escorts. In August, another large oil slick reached Iran's Qeshm Island.