Widening oil spill off UAE coast forces beach closures

• Copernicus satellite imagery shows an oil slick from a damaged tanker expanding toward Umm Al Quwain, depositing oil at sea and along the shoreline.
• Authorities closed all beaches in Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah, alongside Sharjah's Al Hamriyah Beach.
• Experts identified the source as the Gem No. 2, which caught fire after being struck by an unidentified projectile earlier this month.
• The spill highlights surging maritime threats and environmental hazards near the Strait of Hormuz amid the U.S.–'Israel' conflict with Iran.
• UAE authorities launched containment operations to safeguard marine life, including over 500 species of fish, dolphins, and turtles.

An oil spill originating from a damaged tanker off the coast of the United Arab Emirates has expanded, according to recent satellite imagery, prompting authorities to close additional beaches amid growing environmental alarms.

Photographs captured on October 24 by the European Union's Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite observation network reveal that the slick has widened over recent days and approached the shores of the northern emirate of Umm Al Quwain, leaving visible dark slicks of crude spreading across the water and reaching the coastline.

The incident unfolds against a backdrop of escalating regional hostilities.

Since the onset of the US-'Israeli' war on Iran, recurrent attacks on commercial vessels across Gulf maritime corridors have sharply increased navigation risks and intensified concerns regarding the conflict's ecological toll.

Data compiled by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy think tank indicates that October has been the most severe month for assaults targeting commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and adjacent waters.

On Friday, the UAE stated that operations were actively underway to contain the offshore leak, with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment conducting an environmental assessment.

While Emirati officials did not officially identify the vessel or specify the exact cause of the discharge, experts told Reuters that the oil originated from a tanker named Gem No.2.

Shipping sources indicated the vessel had been struck by an unidentified projectile last month, resulting in an onboard fire that was subsequently extinguished.

In response to the spreading contamination, authorities across several northern emirates enacted strict measures to limit access to coastal zones.

The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment announced on Friday the temporary closure of all beaches and coastal waterfronts around Umm Al Quwain city. Neighboring Sharjah similarly shut access to Al Hamriyah Beach as a precautionary measure.

"The reported oil spill off Umm Al Quwain is a serious environmental concern. The temporary closure of beaches and coastal areas is a prudent precaution while the extent of the spill and the movement of the oil are assessed," Nidal Hilal, Professor of Engineering and Director of New York University Abu Dhabi's Water Research Center, told Reuters.

On Saturday, authorities in Ras Al Khaimah, a destination renowned for its luxury resorts and public shores, declared that all beaches across the emirate would remain closed until further notice.

The expanding slick poses hazards to the UAE’s marine ecosystem, which the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) notes is "rich in fish, plants and corals, with over 500 different species of fish inhabiting the Gulf waters," including populations of dolphins and marine turtles.