20-Square-Mile Oil Spill Detected Near Iran's Kharg Island Export Terminal

Satellite photos released on May 8, 2026, show oil oozing through the ocean near Kharg Island in the Strait of Hormuz. The spill spread to an area of 20 square miles between May 6 and May 8, 2026, amounting to as much as 3,000 lost barrels of oil, Orbital EOS reported. Orbital EOS is a global oil spill monitoring service.

It is unclear what caused the spill near Kharg Island. U.S. strikes on Kharg Island taking place in early April 2026.

Large volumes of crude oil stored in tankers are increasing spill risks at Kharg Island, Iranian energy expert Dalga Khatinoglu said. "A possible rupture in the old undersea pipeline to Abuzar field is another source of the spill," Dalga Khatinoglu added. Roughly 90% of Iran’s oil exports depart from Kharg Island.

China is one of the main purchasers of oil exported from Kharg Island. -Israeli strikes began on February 28, 2026. -Israeli bombing commenced on February 28, 2026. At least one-fifth of the world’s supply of seaborne oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. ships since April 13, 2026. No Iranian-flagged vessels are allowed to transit the Strait of Hormuz amid a tenuous cease-fire with American forces that started days before April 13, 2026.

The naval blockade has likely pushed Iran’s oil system into a dangerous state, Nima Shokri said. "Oil wells are not machines that can simply be switched off and restarted at will," Nima Shokri, a professor of environmental engineering at the Hamburg University of Technology, stated. Iran has broken the cease-fire several times.

U.S. destroyers caught fire while sailing through the Strait of Hormuz.