Oil Spill Cleanup Operations Completed in Qeshm Island
Tehran - BORNA - Hamidreza Mohammad-Hosseini Takhti, acting director general of Hormozgan Ports and Maritime Organization, stated Monday that specialized operational teams—supported by local authorities, the provincial crisis committee, and environmental groups—completed the cleanup of oil pollution along the coastlines of Souza and Shib Draz village on Qeshm Island.
Field operations began Tuesday, August 11, following a coordination meeting with local municipality officials to outline technical guidelines. Assessment teams consisting of marine environment experts surveyed the affected coastal areas to determine the extent and nature of the petroleum contamination.
Following the initial assessment, containment efforts commenced by deploying oil booms around the polluted perimeter. The operations continued with continuous monitoring and residue collection until the area was fully cleared.
Addressing shoreline contamination, Mohammad-Hosseini Takhti noted that operational teams collaborated with the Souza Municipality to perform mechanical shore cleaning using heavy loaders to prevent deeper penetration of oil into the beach matrix. In Shib Draz village, specialized pollution control units utilized absorbent sheets to collect pollutants until tidal conditions shifted.
Precautionary measures were also implemented in coordination with the fisheries department to protect nearby shrimp and cage-fish farms. To empower local communities, sufficient quantities of absorbent pads—which directly capture surface oil—were provided to the Shib Draz village administration.
He added that due to the volume of pollution in certain maritime zones, vessels from the Ports and Maritime Organization sprayed chemical dispersants to break down the oil slicks.
Initial reports of oil pollution along the beaches of Souza, Shib Draz, and Naqqasheh on Qeshm Island first surfaced on social media on the evening of Monday, August 10, 2026, triggering emergency coordination meetings among environmental protection agencies, maritime authorities, and local volunteer organizations.
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