The Mani and Cape Maleas peninsulas are dry and rocky, but the northern shore, fed by the Evrotas River, which empties into the gulf at its apex, is fertile farmland.

The Laconian Gulf gained notoriety in the early years after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine because Russia used it regularly to conduct ship-to-ship (STS) transfers of oil by its Ghost Fleet.

[1] In June 2023 a detailed study was published by Geollect on STS transfers by Russian vessels.

[3] In early May 2024 the Russian "base" had moved south to the western shore of Kythira.

[7] By June 2024 the practice had subsided there and moved to offshore Morocco,[8] near the city of Nador at the eastern end of mediterranean Morocco, but another report had this oil originating in Primorsk.