Oil pollution impacts approximately 1.58 million square kilometers of marine waters each year. This includes not only major tanker disasters but also smaller, frequently overlooked vessel spills and operational discharges.
Sea-news.az reports citing a study by the environmental organization “SkyTruth” based on satellite imagery analysis from 2023 to 2025, the most severely affected regions include the Black, Mediterranean, and Red Seas, the Gulf, the West African coast, and the waters surrounding Indonesia.
The study reveals that 81 percent of oil slicks with identifiable origins were linked to vessels—primarily tankers and bulk carriers—while 18 percent originated from offshore oil production facilities and infrastructure. Ocean currents often carry these slicks into protected marine ecosystems, such as the marine section of the Conkouati-Douli National Park in the Republic of Congo. As researchers could not identify the owners of over half the vessels suspected of causing spills, SkyTruth calls for expanded satellite monitoring and greater transparency in vessel ownership records.
