Apparent Oil Slicks Seen in Persian Gulf After U.S. Strikes on Kharg Island and Iranian Drone Attack on Oil Tanker

Multiple instances of what appear to be oil spills occurred this week in the Persian Gulf, Reuters reported on May 13, 2026. One apparent spill is emanating from Kharg Island while another is streaming behind an ADNOC Logistics & Services oil tanker hit by Iranian drones on May 4, 2026. The ADNOC Logistics & Services vessel Barakah was impacted by two Iranian drones on May 4, 2026.

A small amount of bunker fuel was released from the Barakah as a result of the May 4, 2026 incident, an ADNOC company spokesperson told Reuters. The Barakah, classified as a crude oil tanker according to MarineTraffic, remains at anchor off the coast of Oman after the May 4, 2026 incident. No crew members were injured in the May 4, 2026 drone attack on the Barakah, ADNOC told Reuters.

A 60km oil slick originating from Kharg Island is now moving southwards, seen on both optical and radar imagery, environmental reporter Wim Zwijnenburg posted on X on May 9, 2026. The slick appeared to be approximately 17 square miles. Satellite imagery released by Reuters shows what appears to be an oil spill.

"The slick appears visually consistent with oil," Leon Moreland, a researcher at the Conflict and Environment Observatory, told Reuters. "The images are probably indicative of oil slicks," Louis Goddard, co-founder of Data Desk, a climate- and commodities-focused consultant, told Reuters.

U.S. U.S. officials. It remains unclear whether the strikes are connected to the suspected oil slick. Islamic Republic News Agency claimed the images depicted contaminated ballast tank water instead of an oil slick.

The Daily Caller News Foundation contacted ADNOC Logistics & Services, the Sultanate of Oman’s Pollution Operations Monitoring Center and the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations. These incidents are occurring more frequently since the start of the conflict and pose additional environmental pressure on marine ecosystems, Zwijnenburg stated in his May 9, 2026 post accompanying the imagery.