Wim Zwijnenburg
@wammezz
Environmental open-source investigations, tracking drone warfare, research based advocacy for PAX, contributer Bellingcat.
Helpful overview here by our friends of @investigativ.greenpeace.de / @greenpeace.org on the oil pollution the the Sea of Azov following the large-scale campaign to target Russia's #shadowfleet of oil tankers and other vessels, showing over 100km2 of detected spills.
On June 8 a Russian sanctioned oil tanker reported explosions, in the Gulf of Aden, possibly from saboteurs. The strip stranded in Oman on Al-Qibliyah island, part of the Arabian Sea Reserve, a protected area, and started leaking a substance early July, polluting the nearby area
Conflict-linked marine pollution is spiking in the Persian Gulf, new #remotesensing research finds. An increase of 4x more spills from targeted oil facilities and ships, leaks and dumps, all risking protected areas, desal plants and marine life. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Close-up image of one of Russia's shadow fleet tankers that Ukrainian #drones hit early July, still burning a week later on July 14.
#PT Spills are also affecting the northern coastal area of Oman's Musandam National Park Nature Reserve, with protected coral reefs, an important bird habitat and rich with turtles, whales and dolphins
The Gulf of Oman is facing severe pollution from ongoing strikes on civilian vessels, mooring ships dumping contaminated bilge water and substances. The targeting of tankers is already causing massive oil spills, seen below. The recent strike on Mombasa-B on July 14 raises wider concerns.
Another large oil spill detected in the #BlackSea, roughly 125km2 on July 11. Although other causes can't be ruled out, it's likely that this leaking oil tanker was also hit UA #drones targeting Russia's shadowfleet. h/t @elkangoo.bsky.social
Here's our updated analysis of the targeted Russian #shadowfleet in the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov with yesterday and today's 🛰️ from @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social and @planet.com. Mostly light oil sheens at the moments, some reaching coastal areas.
Update of our analysis using @planet.com imagery on Ukraine's campaign to target Russia's shadow fleet of tankers and other vessels in the Strait of Kerch with #drone strikes, with now at least 76 ships claimed to be targeted.
#PT Light oil sheens are already visible in satellite imagery from @planet.com, potentially for earlier strikes
The strikes on Russia's oil fleet are resulting in visible spills with recent @planet.com and @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social imagery on the marine and coastal environment at the Kerch Strait
New imagery from @planet.com showing two Turkish-origin Bayraktar AKINCI armed drones at the Bahir Dar airbase in central #Ethiopia. Recent footage released by Sudanes Armed Forces of a shot down AKINCI claims that these drones are operating over #Sudan coming from Ethiopia
"Military strikes on civilian-critical infrastructure must be condemned if we are to build a just and sustainable future." A welcome editorial by @nature.com on how wars pose a ongoing threat to the environment and people depending on it. nature.com/articles/s41...
The 60km oil slick originating from Kharg island is now moving southwards, seen on both optical and radar imagery. These incidents are more frequently occuring since the start of the conflict and pose additional environmental pressure on marine ecosystems in #Iran www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/c...
#PT In 2023 and 2024 we used @planet.com imagery and OSINT to map informal solid waste dumps as garbage was accumulating in streets posing environmental health risks. We shared the data with UN agencies which used this for rapid clean-up and removal paxforpeace.nl/publications...
The latest World Bank Damage and Need Assessment on #Gaza states that 'environmental collapse is intensifying health and livelihood risks', in particular from untreated waste water, waste burning, pollution from debris and UXOs. Full report can be found here: reliefweb.int/report/occup...
Strikes at fossil fuel infrastructure has resulted in a wave of emergency flaring across oil and gas field in the Gulf. Here's an example from #Saudi-Arabia at Khurais, with incomplete combustion releasing pollutants for over a week now
Weak environmental governance and continuing discharging of untreated wastewater into rivers causes severe pollution incidents in #Iraq. Here's a recent example where heavy rainfall pushed accumulated waste from the Diyala river into the Tigris, affecting fisheries www.facebook.com/reel/1654217...
Another environmental emergency following the airstrike on the Lavan oil refinery in #Iran causing an huge oil spill threatening the Sheedvar Island, a protected Ramsar Convention site, while the fire at the fuel depot is still burning after 2 days, releasing more pollutants.
The sad state of environmental affairs due to the war on #Iran and retaliatory strikes captured in one satellite image on April 2, 2026 from @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social Sentinel-2 in the Strait of Hormuz
This is another incident that shows how military operations impact the marine environment . If you're interested, read our recent @paxvoorvrede.nl report and why international law needs improvement to step up protection paxforpeace.nl/news/why-we-mu…
#PT The oil slick is also visible on Sentinel-1 radar imagery from March 16, with a rough quick'n dirty measurement covering 80km2 moving southwards.
The US strike on the Iranian drone carrier Shahid Bagheri near Bandar Abbas resulted in a large 25km long oil slick that is posing a threat the coastal and marine environment of the Hara Biosphere and Khuran Strait Wetlands, a Ramsar site, two Protected Areas
The aftermath of the Iranian strike on the oil tankers at the Basra oil terminal shows an oil slick near the burned out tanker, March 14. It's likely fuel oil as the cargo, oil condensates / naphtha, seemed to have burned of in the fire after the explosion
Meanwhile, Iranian drone boats hit two oil tanker laden with 400.00 barrels of fuel at the coast of Iraq, almost twice as much as the Exxon Valdez.
With an update on the spill caused after the US sunk the Iranian vessel DENA. The spill has hit the shores at #Srilanka, and emergency response crews are now involved in clean-up efforts, in particular around popular beaches and protected areas. Imagery of today does show most of the oil gone
Update on the ongoing environmental consequences of ongoing airstrikes in #Tehran after four fuel depots have been targeted with the latest #remotesensing data and reports from the ground. The northern depots are smoulding, but fires continue at the Shahr-e depot