A crude oil slick has been polluting southern Gabon’s seas and coastline for several days, the environment ministry said Thursday. The alert was first raised last week, with recent traces spotted across 70 to 100 kilometres between Mayumba and Mayonami.
Social media videos showed Mayumba’s beaches streaked with black trails, prompting authorities to warn against fishing, swimming, and foraging. The Gabonese Agency for Aerospace Studies and Observations reported two oil slicks spanning roughly 90 to 95 square kilometres over late August to September.
AGEOS suggested the spill may have originated from a ship discharge or an offshore oil rig in the region’s waters. Authorities said waste clean-up operations were planned, though it remained unclear whether the response had already begun along affected areas.
The incident highlights the environmental risks facing Gabon’s fragile coastline amid its growing oil exploration and extraction activities. Local communities now face both ecological and economic threats as fisheries, tourism, and daily life grapple with the contamination. The ministry called on residents to stay vigilant while emergency teams coordinate monitoring and eventual clean-up of the slick.