{"id":81999,"date":"2026-03-10T17:28:31","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T16:28:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/?p=81999"},"modified":"2026-03-13T22:43:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T21:43:34","slug":"hormuz-oil-tanker-leak-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/81999\/hormuz-oil-tanker-leak-iran\/","title":{"rendered":"How oil tankers stuck in the Strait of Hormuz south of Iran threatens the Gulf ecosystem"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>More than\u00a0<strong>85 large oil tankers<\/strong>\u00a0are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/press-release\/82052\/greenpeace-disaster-oil-tankers-in-persian-gulf\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/press-release\/82052\/greenpeace-disaster-oil-tankers-in-persian-gulf\/\">currently trapped in the Persian Gulf<\/a>. The reason: following attacks launched on Iran by Israel and the United States on 28 February, Iran has restricted access to the strategically important Hormuz Strait. Ongoing hostilities and disrupted vessel position signals dramatically <a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2026\/03\/13\/world\/video\/environment-pollution-iran-war-intv-031303aseg1-cnni-world-fast\">increase the risk of oil spills<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/press-release\/81889\/greenpeace-response-to-strikes-on-iran-by-the-us-and-israel\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/press-release\/81889\/greenpeace-response-to-strikes-on-iran-by-the-us-and-israel\/\">Greenpeace is calling for an immediate end to military violence, a return to international law, and diplomatic solutions<\/a><\/strong>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2026\/03\/48e8ce3c-gettyimages-2264166796-1024x683.jpg\" title=\"A person points at a page on the Marinetraffic website that shows commercial boats traffic\" alt=\"A person points at a page on the Marinetraffic website that shows commercial boats traffic\" class=\"wp-image-82002\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2026\/03\/48e8ce3c-gettyimages-2264166796-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2026\/03\/48e8ce3c-gettyimages-2264166796-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2026\/03\/48e8ce3c-gettyimages-2264166796-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2026\/03\/48e8ce3c-gettyimages-2264166796-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2026\/03\/48e8ce3c-gettyimages-2264166796-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2026\/03\/48e8ce3c-gettyimages-2264166796-510x340.jpg 510w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A person points at a page on the Marinetraffic website that shows commercial boats traffic on the edge of the Strait of Hormuz near the Iranian coast, in Paris on March 4, 2026.<div class=\"credit icon-left\"> \u00a9 Julien De Rosa \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p>Since the beginning of the conflict,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/live-news\/20260308-10-vessels-attacked-in-hormuz-strait-analysts\">several ships&nbsp;have already been attacked<\/a>, including a crude oil tanker off the coast of Kuwait. In total, the tankers currently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/world\/iran\/strait-of-hormuz-closure-shipping-oil-strikes-rcna262898\">blocked in the Persian Gulf<\/a> are carrying (as of 12 March 2026)&nbsp;<strong>at least 21 billion litres of oil<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">New research: the risk of oil spills in the Hormuz Strait is serious<strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p>An alarming investigation by Greenpeace Germany has analysed the blocked Strait of Hormuz using <a href=\"https:\/\/maps.greenpeace.org\/maps\/gpde\/hormuz-strait-2026\">ship movement data and satellite imagery<\/a> and simulated the potential consequences of an oil spill in the Persian Gulf.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"720\" height=\"450\" frameborder=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/maps.greenpeace.org\/maps\/gpde\/hormuz-strait-2026\/?lang=en\"><\/iframe>\n\n<div style=\"height:16px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<p>In the event of a tanker leaking, it\u2019s clear that local communities would pay this additional, long-term price for unlawful aggression and fossil fuel interests. An oil spill could destroy these unique ecosystems and the livelihoods that depend on them for decades.&nbsp;<strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>Our simulations show an ecological ticking time bomb: over 85 large blocked tankers in the Persian Gulf extending to the Strait of Hormuz represent an enormous risk that further increases instability in the region.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sensitive ecosystems at risk<strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p>The ecosystem of the Persian Gulf is unique. The Strait of Hormuz and the adjacent waters of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman are home to sensitive ecosystems such as coral reefs, mangrove forests, and seagrass meadows that provide vital habitats for numerous species. The Strait of Hormuz is the only maritime connection between the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea and plays a crucial role in the exchange of water and nutrients as well as serving as a migration route for marine mammals.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2026\/03\/eb0e8525-2060038384_f5128cf231_k-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-82005\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2026\/03\/eb0e8525-2060038384_f5128cf231_k-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2026\/03\/eb0e8525-2060038384_f5128cf231_k-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2026\/03\/eb0e8525-2060038384_f5128cf231_k-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2026\/03\/eb0e8525-2060038384_f5128cf231_k-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2026\/03\/eb0e8525-2060038384_f5128cf231_k-1821x1366.jpg 1821w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2026\/03\/eb0e8525-2060038384_f5128cf231_k-453x340.jpg 453w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2026\/03\/eb0e8525-2060038384_f5128cf231_k.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Coral reefs at the Big Corals Site, East of Kish island, Persian Gulf, Iran<div class=\"credit icon-left\"> \u00a9 Hamed Saber, CC BY 2.0<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p>Even in peacetime, these ecosystems are exposed to extreme natural conditions and significant human pressures from shipping, oil extraction, seawater desalination, and coastal development.<\/p>\n\n<p>Greenpeace data experts used software from the&nbsp;Norwegian Meteorological Institute&nbsp;to calculate which regions of the Persian Gulf would be particularly threatened by an oil spill. The simulations assumed a spill of&nbsp;50,000 tonnes of oil, as in tanker accidents often only part of the cargo enters the water. The locations of the simulated oil spills were based on the current positions of five tankers as well as historical weather and current data.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Peace, not war<strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p>An oil spill would have devastating consequences for people, animals, and plants in the region. Our simulations show how an oil slick could spread if one of the stranded tankers were damaged in an attack.<\/p>\n\n<p>Everyone deserves to live in peace. Nobody wants war.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/press-release\/81889\/greenpeace-response-to-strikes-on-iran-by-the-us-and-israel\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/press-release\/81889\/greenpeace-response-to-strikes-on-iran-by-the-us-and-israel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">At a time when the world must urgently unite, further violence only divides and destroys<\/a>. Together we must rise up for peace.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>We must also ramp up pressure on our governments to urgently shift away from fossil fuels&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/81935\/war-renewables-security-imperative-energy-mena-west-asia\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/81935\/war-renewables-security-imperative-energy-mena-west-asia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">towards distributed renewable energy systems<\/a>&nbsp;where the risks of conflict are reduced rather than amplified.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-16018d1d wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/maps.greenpeace.org\/maps\/gpde\/hormuz-strait-2026\/\"><strong>Explore our interactive map<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p><em>Nina Noelle is a crisis communications and international relations manager for Greenpeace Germany&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n<p><em>Note: This post was edited  on 13 March 2026 &#8211; The number of large oil tankers stuck in the Persian Gulf and volume of oil they are carrying was updated from the figures of 6 March (68 carrying around 16 billion litres) to 12 March (85 large tankers carrying at least 21 billion litres of oil).<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An alarming investigation by Greenpeace Germany has analysed the blocked Strait of Hormuz using ship movement data and satellite imagery and simulated the potential consequences of an oil spill in the Persian Gulf.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":82002,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_planet4_optimize_post_is_variant":false,"_planet4_optimize_experiment_name":"","_planet4_optimize_variant_name":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"Oil","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[69,70,1],"tags":[87,90],"p4-page-type":[59],"class_list":["post-81999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","category-nature","category-uncategorised","tag-oil","tag-peace","p4-page-type-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81999"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82137,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81999\/revisions\/82137"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81999"},{"taxonomy":"p4-page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/p4-page-type?post=81999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}