{"id":29182,"date":"2026-03-11T06:26:52","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T11:26:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/?p=29182"},"modified":"2026-03-11T06:26:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T11:26:52","slug":"more-than-68-stranded-oil-tankers-increase-the-risk-of-oil-spills-in-the-strait-of-hormuz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/more-than-68-stranded-oil-tankers-increase-the-risk-of-oil-spills-in-the-strait-of-hormuz\/29182\/","title":{"rendered":"More than 68 stranded oil tankers increase the risk of oil spills in the Strait of Hormuz"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

More than 68 loaded oil tankers are sitting nearly motionless near the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, carrying at least 16 billion liters of crude oil. That is roughly three months of oil consumption for Spain, all concentrated in one of the narrowest and most sensitive sea lanes on Earth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An investigation by Greenpeace<\/a> warns that this traffic jam has become an \u201cecological ticking time bomb\u201d for the entire Persian Gulf region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A narrow energy artery under maximum stress<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Strait is the only sea passage linking the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the wider ocean. Around one fifth of the world\u2019s traded crude oil and liquefied gas usually squeezes through this channel, on average tens of millions of barrels every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After recent military strikes in the region, Iran tightened control over the Strait and surrounding waters. Several ships have already been attacked and navigation signals have been intermittently disrupted, forcing crews to rely more heavily on radar and visual watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read More: Millions of people could lose SNAP without realizing it, and the real change isn’t in soda or candy, but in a new rule that severely affects adults between the ages of 55 and 64<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

What does that mean in practical terms? A long line of fully-loaded tankers is now effectively parked in a semi\u2011closed sea that already struggles with heavy shipping, oil extraction and coastal development. All it would take is one major accident or deliberate hit for millions of liters of crude to spill into warm, shallow waters with very little room to disperse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fragile Gulf ecosystems on the front line<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Gulf<\/a> is not an empty blue patch on the map. It is home to coral reefs, mangrove forests and seagrass meadows<\/a> that act as nurseries for fish, feeding grounds for turtles and dugongs, and natural storm buffers for coastal towns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even in peacetime, these ecosystems face a tough combination of stressors such as<\/p>\n\n\n\n