Ecological cost of US-Iran war: Scientists warn ships stranded for months in the Strait of Hormuz could now carry invasive species, posing an ‘immense international biosecurity threat’

As commercial ships slowly begin moving through the Strait of Hormuz again after months of disruption caused by the US-Iran war in the Middle East, scientists have warned of a hidden ecological consequence: vessels that spent weeks or months stranded in the Gulf may now be carrying dense communities of invasive species and marine organisms to ports around the world.

An international team of marine scientists has warned that the prolonged shutdown could trigger a large-scale marine bioinvasion, as organisms that colonized stationary ships during the disruption are transported along global shipping routes once the vessels resume their journeys.