Press Release Another 25 km² of Oil Slicks Detected in the Caspian Sea in July

Press Release

Another 25 km² of Oil Slicks Detected in the Caspian Sea in July

ASTANA – The Caspian Sea continues to suffer from oil-related pollution. In July 2025, satellites Sentinel-1A and Sentinel-1C recorded 28 oil slicks in the sea, covering a total area of approximately 25 square kilometers. These findings were reported by the global environmental movement Save the Caspian Sea, citing the Transparent World on the Caspian project.

Some of the spills were detected near the coastline, while others were found in open waters. Four slicks, totaling 7 square kilometers, were located in Kazakhstan's sector of the Caspian. The remaining incidents occurred in Russian waters (21 slicks covering 16.79 square kilometers) and Azerbaijan’s sector (3 slicks covering 1.3 square kilometers).

“The persistent presence of such pollution every month is a death sentence for the sea,” said Save the Caspian Sea founder Vadim Ni. “This is not about isolated incidents – it’s a consistent threat to the ecosystem, one that still lacks a coordinated response from government authorities.”

The organization previously sent formal inquiries to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the General Prosecutor’s Office, and the Ministry of Transport, asking whether there is any state monitoring of the situation, if satellite-detected pollution is officially recorded, and whether an emergency response plan exists. The Ministry of Ecology provided a formal response that did not address the substance of the inquiry. As of the release date, no response had been received from the Ministry of Transport.

For reference, in May 2025, around 40 slicks covering over 64 square kilometers were detected both in coastal areas and open waters, with pollution recorded in the sectors of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Turkmenistan.

Background information

The monitoring was conducted using radar imagery from the Sentinel-1A satellite and the CLASS.PRO analytical platform, based on methodologies developed by the P. P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The study covered the northern and parts of the central Caspian Sea and was carried out in cooperation with companies Lorette LLC, Raimet Scientific and Production Foundation, and Ctrl2GO. All research results are publicly available on the portal: https://transparentworld.tech/.

Probable ship discharge in the Kazakh sector (area of 6 km²), detected in Sentinel-1A SAR imagery on July 29, 2025.

Source: “Transparent World on the Caspian” project

Possible ship spill in the Russian sector (area of 6 km²), detected in Sentinel-1A SAR imagery on July 16, 2025.

Source: “Transparent World on the Caspian” project

Pollution from coastal facilities in the Russian sector, detected in Sentinel-1A SAR imagery on July 16, 2025.

Source: “Transparent World on the Caspian” project

Fragmented ship-originated spill in the Azerbaijani sector (area of 0.2 km²), detected in Sentinel-1A SAR imagery on July 17, 2025.

Source: “Transparent World on the Caspian” project