Satellite images showed that a large oil spill off the coast of northern Syria may be much larger than what authorities previously believed and threatened to spread to the eastern coast of Cyprus.
Wim Zwijnenburg, a contributor at the investigative site Bellingcat and project leader at PAX, a Dutch peace organization, was responsible for sharing the satellite images on Twitter. The pictures were imagery analysis by Orbital EOS. He said that the oil spill spread over a 386-mile area but argued that more observation was needed to know the exact extent of the damage.
Massive Oil Spill
The incident started last week after a fuel tank at the Baniyas Thermal Station got a crack, which then led to large quantities of fuel being dispersed into the sea. About 15,000 tons of fuel was stored inside the tank.
However, the accident was reported to have been an act of sabotage, the director-general of the General Establishment for Electricity Generation, Mahmoud Ramadan, said. Authorities also noted that the Syrian government was conducting cleanup operations along the Syrian coast, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Authorities from Cyprus said that the oil spill was expected to reach the northern parts of the region on Tuesday. The new images showed a much greater area of effect of the oil spill that officials fear could grow into the Mediterranean.
In a statement, the fisheries department said that modeling and meteorological data of the oil spill suggested it could reach the Cape of Apostolos Andreas in the next 24 hours. Cyprus authorities said they have taken necessary precautions in the north of the island in anticipation of the spill.
Officials said that the spill was looking more like oil sheen rather than crude oil. The department added that based on the National Emergency Plan for dealing with marine pollution from petroleum products, there are teams ready to take action in case of an emergency, the Times of Israel reported.
Responding to the Incident
Cyprus authorities also notified Turkish Cypriot officials about the spread of the oil spill and offered assistance in the event that an emergency occurred. Syria's oil resources are primarily located outside government-controlled areas, except for two refineries which were still managed by the government.
The situation has made Damascus heavily reliant on Iran for fuel resources, but the United States Treasury sanctions have limited the supply chain, which spread across Syria, Iran, and Russia, KXAN reported.
The incident comes as a series of mysterious attacks that have ravaged vessels in Mideast water, such as the ones found off of Syria's coast, for more than a year. The attacks have fueled rising tensions between Iran, Israel, and the United States in recent months.
Syria's foreign minister blamed Israel in May for allegedly conducting mysterious attacks on oil tankers that were traveling to Syria. Officials said that the Israeli government violated international law and said that it would pursue to have authorities punished for their acts against the country.
It also comes as a member of Iran's parliament energy committee said that the Islamic Republic must supply fuel resources to Lebanon, Syria, and Venezuela to protect them from harm.
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