A Huge Oil Spill is Spreading Along Syria’s Coast

A huge oil spill occurred in one of the oil refineries of Syria that is now spreading along the coast of the country. The oil spill was caused by leakage from a power plant and reportedly, it has reached the coastal town of Jableh, which is about 20 kilometers north of the refinery in the town of Baniyas.

This news led the authorities including the environment department and the municipality of the coastal province of Latakia on alert. The work to clean the coast in the rocky areas was still under progress.

Image: Planet Labs Inc./AP

According to the government officials, fuel leakage from one of the tanks at Baniyas Thermal Station is under control now. Apparently, whatever caused the spill, happened after August 23, 2021. As per the satellite images shown from planet Labs Inc. of the day, the site had no sign of the spill but the images showed on August 26, 2021, appeared to have a massive spill stretching out over 25.5 kilometers.

The head of the Electricity Workers Syndicate at Tartous Workers Union, Dawoud Darwish, put out the blame on the cracks of one of the fuel tanks at the thermal station. He mentioned that the tank was filled with 15,000 tons of fuel.

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Only two refineries in Syria are under government control and operating, which eventually makes the capital city of Damascus rely upon Iran for fuel, but there is a hindrance in the supply network due to the U.S. treasury sanctions affecting Syria, Iran and Russia.

Syria’s foreign minister blamed Israel for mysterious attacks targeting oil tankers there, saying they will be punished soon for violating the international law.

Via: AP News