Widespread Oil Pollution Detected Off Yemen’s Hodeidah Coast Amid Ship-to-Ship Transfers

A significant oil spill has been detected in the maritime corridor leading to the Ras Issa and Salif ports in Yemen's Hodeidah governorate, raising concerns regarding illicit ship-to-ship fuel transfers occurring off the nation's western coast.

Satellite imagery captured over the past several weeks has revealed multiple oil slicks in the waters near Uqban and Al-Badi islands. The most recent incident occurred on August 19, when a large slick was identified north of Al-Badi island, prompting experts to investigate the source of the persistent environmental contamination.

Farooq Al-Kamali, an expert in information verification and artificial intelligence, stated that the pollution is concentrated in an area frequently utilized for transferring oil between tankers and smaller vessels destined for Houthi-controlled ports. Al-Kamali suggested that the slicks are likely the result of unregulated ship-to-ship transfers conducted by so-called dark vessels, which intentionally disable their maritime tracking signals to evade oversight.

Tracking data analysis indicates that several tankers carrying Russian crude oil, originating from the Mediterranean, have vanished from electronic monitoring systems as they approached the Hodeidah coastline. Observations recorded on August 29 identified three such dark tankers offloading cargo to other vessels in the vicinity of the Ras Issa port facility.

The recurring appearance of these oil slicks poses a grave threat to the regional marine ecosystem, coastal habitats, and the livelihoods of local fishermen. The lack of transparency and safety protocols surrounding these clandestine operations continues to heighten environmental risks in the Red Sea corridor.