Environment and Conflict Alert 4: Baniyas

A massive leak of over 10,000 tons of heavy fuel oil flowed from the Baniyas Thermal Power Plant on Syria’s coast into the Mediterranean Sea in the early morning of August 23, 2021. Within days, the black toxic substance quickly spread over hundreds of kilometers, washing across the beaches of Syria and dumping tar balls of oil on the shores of Turkey and Cyprus. This was a dangerous incident waiting to happen, as new remote sensing analysis over a period of three years conducted by PAX shows. Using commercial and public satellite imagery, the fourth report in a series of Environment and Conflict Alerts outlines how oil leaks from ruptured underwater pipelines, leaks from mooring oil tankers, and discharged polluted wastewater have turned Baniyas into an environmental hotspot.