TEHRAN -- A large stretch of the Iranian coast along the Persian Gulf has been polluted by an oil leak from an offshore pipeline, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency.
“Sea tides are flowing up oil slicks to the shore,” Kioumars Jokar, head of the Ports and Maritime Organization in Genaveh, told IRNA. “The level of pollution is increasing and measures must be taken as soon as possible to curb the spill.”
The port city of Genaveh in Iran’s southern Bushehr province is near the spill area and houses a major oil storage facility. It’s connected through underwater pipelines to the Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, where most of the country’s oil is loaded for exports.
Works were underway to clean up floating oil patches and the pipeline was shut down for repairs, Jokar said. Beachgoers were warned to stay off the waters, IRNA reported.