Oil Slick from Struck Tanker Spreads Along UAE Coast, Threatening Protected Marine Habitat

Oil is coming ashore along the coast of the United Arab Emirates, and some beaches and coastal areas have been closed because of it. Verified video from Friday shows crude washing onto the shore near the northern city of Umm Al Quwain and turning the water black. The source is a tanker that was attacked near the Strait of Hormuz two weeks ago.

BBC Verify's analysis of the ship's location and dimensions indicates it is Gem No.2, a Panama-flagged crude oil tanker. The maritime intelligence firm Vanguard reported that the vessel was struck by an unknown projectile on 9 October, just north of the town of Al Jazeera Al Hamra. A fire broke out on board and was later put out. Footage first posted on social media on 10 October, and verified, shows crew members running across the deck and pulling on lifejackets while a large column of black smoke rose above the ship. All 22 Indian crew members were rescued, according to the Indian consulate in Dubai on 11 October.

Iranian state media gave its own account. It broadcast footage of a ship matching Gem No.2 that appeared to show the vessel burning, with burning oil spilling into the sea. State media said the ship had been trying to leave the Strait of Hormuz by an unauthorized and dangerous route.

Satellite radar imagery reviewed by BBC Verify and the intelligence firm MAIAR traces the growth of the spill. A much smaller leak was visible coming from the ship on 19 October. Over the next two days the slick appears to have spread rapidly. Images from Monday show the early stages of the larger spill, and by Wednesday the oil extended more than 35km (22 miles) from the tanker. On Thursday, UAE authorities said beaches near Umm Al Quwain were affected. The country's Ministry of Climate Change and Environment said it had immediately begun containment to limit environmental impacts.

Scientists say it is too early to measure the damage. Prof Steve Widdicombe, director of the Sharjah Marine Science Research Centre, told BBC Verify that an impact was inevitable. Spills can kill immediately, by trapping turtles, smothering seabirds' feathers or damaging fishes' gills. Longer-term harm is also possible if species stay exposed to the oil's toxic compounds, which could affect their ability to reproduce. How bad it gets will depend on the volume and type of oil spilled, how fast it evaporates or breaks down, and how effective the clean-up is.

The main concern is geography. The spill extends toward Siniyah and Khor Al Beidah islands, a globally recognised Key Biodiversity Area. It holds corals, seagrasses and saltmarshes, and species including green turtles and the critically endangered Halavi guitarfish. Eoghan Darbyshire, a scientist at the Conflict and Environment Observatory, called the spill's proximity to this area the most concerning environmental angle.

Gem No.2 was one of a record number of ships reporting attacks in and around the Strait of Hormuz at the start of October. Security experts told BBC Verify that the surge was part of an Iranian effort to assert greater control over the strait, a response to the US military successfully escorting more vessels through the shipping lane. Both Iranian and US forces have attacked tankers and other commercial vessels there during the conflict between the two countries. In August, another major slick washed up on the shores of Iran's Qeshm Island, which experts said threatened wildlife, protected ecosystems and fishing communities.

What to watch now is whether containment holds before the oil reaches the protected islands, and what the volume and type of oil turn out to be, since those will determine how much damage follows.