Ölpest am Persischen Golf 1991 Ereignis

Die Ölpest am Persischen Golf im Jahr 1991 als Folge des Zweiten Golfkriegs gilt als eine der größten maritimen Ölkatastrophen. Betroffen waren vor allem Südkuwait und Saudi-Arabien. Knapp eine Milliarde Liter Rohöl (etwa 860.000 Tonnen) wurden freigesetzt, unter anderem aus mehreren Tankern und Ölterminals, und gelangten in den Golf vor der Küste Kuwaits. Insbesondere die Salzmarschen der Arabischen Küste sind weiterhin schwer geschädigt.

The Gulf War oil spill was one of the largest oil spills in history, resulting from the Gulf War in 1991. The apparent strategic goal was to foil a potential landing by US Marines. It also made commandeering oil reserves dangerous for US forces as visibility and movement were inhibited. The immediate reports from Baghdad said that American air strikes had caused a discharge of oil from two tankers. Coalition forces determined the main source of oil to be the Sea Island terminal in Kuwait. On January 26, three US F-117 fighter-bombers destroyed pipelines to prevent further spillage into the Persian Gulf. Several other sources of oil were found to be active: tankers and a damaged Kuwaiti oil refinery near Mina Al Ahmadi, tankers near Bubiyan Island, and Iraq's Mina Al Bakr terminal.