Satellite images show a suspected oil slick covering dozens of square kilometres [1] off the western coast of Iran's Kharg Island.
As the nation's main oil export hub, any environmental disaster at Kharg Island could disrupt critical energy infrastructure and threaten the fragile marine ecosystem of the Persian Gulf.
The imagery, captured between May 6 and May 8, 2026 [3], reveals a grey-white oil slick spreading across the sea [2]. The spill is located near the western coast of Kharg Island, which measures approximately eight kilometres in length [2].
Officials have not yet confirmed the cause of the leak. The incident remains classified as a suspected oil spill while investigators review the data [1]. The scale of the slick is significant relative to the size of the island, which is only five miles long [2].
Monitoring agencies used satellite data to detect the presence of the slick during the first week of May [3]. The images indicate that the oil has spread over a wide area, though the exact volume of the spill has not been disclosed [1].
“A suspected oil slick covering dozens of square kilometres”
The detection of a large-scale oil slick at Iran's primary export terminal suggests a potential failure in containment or transport infrastructure. Because Kharg Island is the central artery for Iranian crude oil exports, a confirmed spill of this magnitude could signal operational vulnerabilities at a site of high strategic importance.
