‘The ocean has no boundaries’: Beauty and life in a war zone

Iran closed waterways to foreign shipping, attacked merchant ships and cut off around 20 percent of world oil trade by sea. About 20,000 sailors were stranded in the Persian Gulf. The UN Secretary General called for an immediate ceasefire.

Behind all that, the fish continued to swim.

Back in the water

Three Chinese divers based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – diving instructor Rui Li, freediver Shanshan Du and technical diver Jie Zhang – have been banned from entering the water for weeks due to beach closures. When a ceasefire allowed limited access in mid-April, they rushed back in.

World Oceans Daywhich is celebrated every year on June 8, carries this year’s theme Reimagining the Relationship Between Humans and the Ocean. For these three people, this rethinking is anything but abstract.

“We were actually a little worried before we left,” said Du, who dived in the narrowest passage between the UAE and Oman on April 18, just days after the UN welcomed Iran’s announcement that the strait would be opened to commercial ships during the ceasefire.

“But after more than two months, we all felt amazing to be able to dive again. We encountered a large group of dolphins. There was no war-torn atmosphere that I had imagined – just peace and beauty before my eyes.”

Zhang, who dived in the area as recently as last week, described a diversity of coral he had rarely encountered elsewhere – soft and hard corals that varied depending on the topography, and turtles gathered in such numbers that it resembled a nature reserve.

Disturbing signs

He also noticed something more disturbing. “I see more white debris on the seabed than before,” he said, unsure of its origin. And when he and his friends followed the dolphin near the east side of the strait, the water around the animal was filled with green algae, oil fumes and floating trash.

“I remember when I was chasing dolphins, the water was blue. Seeing this scene with my own eyes is still very heartbreaking.”

Li is careful to hold both realities at once. The strait is not the most biodiverse marine zone in the world, he said, but its complex topography supports an unusual diversity of coral reefs – formations “as white as silver needles” next to colonies “the purple color of a pine forest” – as well as seahorses, whale sharks and species rarely seen elsewhere.

He told how he witnessed a ship captain who, unable to dive and having no other means of communication, was able to find a group of dolphins that seemed to recognize him. “We greeted each other and then went our separate ways,” Li said. “This place is truly magical.”

Potential disaster

But he is also very aware of the impact of armed conflict on the region. Attacks on oil storage facilities, he said, could be catastrophic for marine life. “Many marine organisms are small and vulnerable. A single attack could be enough to wipe out some amazing species that humans have never seen.”

Zhang describes the vulnerability of the underwater world in blunt terms. “No one can speak for the underwater ecosystem – fish cannot speak, and neither can large animals.

“We throw all the disputes, wars and pollution on land into the sea, ignoring the fact that the sea does not have good self-protection capabilities and can only bear all the conflicts and damage caused by human activities.”

Stealth diving has removed certain certainties for the trio. “Underwater, the ocean has no boundaries,” Zhang said. “Ocean currents and schools of fish move freely. When whale sharks sail, they follow fixed routes through different countries – they are free. Humanity should share this blue world rather than tear it apart with strife.”

Mother of the ocean

Li uses a different metaphor – warmer, and perhaps more honest about the limits of human agency. The relationship between humans and the sea, he argues, is like that between a child and a parent: the sea supports us, nurtures us, and sometimes punishes us.

“We are old enough to want to protect him, he said, but what we can actually do is still small. Our parents still quietly wait for us, help us, and continue to care for us.”

Du, who dived in a country where dozens of people from various countries gathered, found that underwater, borders felt unimportant. Communication occurs through gestures only. “Because of this hobby, and because of the ocean, it has created a beautiful environment for us.”

The conflict that occurred on the surface has not ended. Negotiations between Washington and Tehran remain fragile and uncertain. But 71 percent of the earth is ocean – and, as Li would tell anyone who’s never seen it: come and touch this refreshing water whenever you can.