Iran pipeline rupture causes Gulf oil slick

A pipeline rupture in Iran has caused a 20-kilometre oil slick along the shores of the Gulf, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported on Sunday.

The spill was caused by an explosion in a corroded pipeline at the port city of Daylam in Bushehr province, Mehr said.

"The pipeline blast and the subsequent discharge of crude oil has created large spills in the sea, some of which stretch 20 km (12 miles) along the shoreline going 8 km (5 miles) into the sea," said Amir Sediqi, a local official of the Environmental Organisation.

The report did not say how much oil was lost or when the leak started. The Oil Ministry was not immediately available to comment.

Stormy weather was hampering clean-up efforts, Sediqi said.

Some 40 per cent of the world's traded crude oil passes through the Gulf and oil extraction and conflicts have posed a significant threat to the marine environment.
 

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