Majority of Oil Pollution on Qeshm Shores Cleaned Up

The Deputy Director of Hormozgan Province's Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) announced the start of field operations to contain and clean up oil pollution on the shores of Qeshm Island, with the aim of preventing the spread of pollution and protecting the marine ecosystem. Esmail Makizadeh stated that most of the pollution has been controlled in coordination with local agencies.

Following the observation of an oil spill on the shores of Qeshm Island, an emergency coordination meeting was held with the participation of local executive bodies to study and assess the dimensions of the incident and manage field measures in a centralized and coordinated manner. In the first step, assessment teams examined the scope and type of oil pollution by visiting the area and monitoring the coastlines. After this initial assessment, the oil spill containment operation began with the deployment of oil absorbent pads in the contaminated area, and this process continues simultaneously with monitoring and collecting oil residues until the area is completely cleaned up.

Makizadeh explained that oil absorbent pads act as physical floating barriers to prevent the spread of the oil spill and limit it to a specific area, providing the necessary conditions for the implementation of the next stages of cleanup. As the cleaning operation continued, cleanup was carried out using absorbent sheets and pads, which are placed directly on the oil spills to absorb the oil on the surface of the water. Given the extent of pollution in some parts of the sea, dispersant (decomposing chemicals) was also sprayed using vessels of the PMO.

To protect shrimp and fish farms in cages, preventive and precautionary measures were taken in coordination with the Hormozgan Fisheries Directorate, and in necessary cases, countermeasures were taken to prevent the spread of contamination to these farms. So far, a large part of the contaminated areas has been contained, and continuous monitoring operations, collection of oil residues, and cleaning of the beaches and contaminated areas will continue until the remnants of contamination are completely eliminated and normalcy returns to the area.

According to Mehr News, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi has blamed the US aggression for the oil slick on the shores of Qeshm Island near the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.