The largest spills in history may be incidents you’ve never heard of. Here’s a quick look at the top five and the spill response efforts used in each:
Gulf War Oil Spill
Date: January 1991 Location: Persian Gulf (Kuwait)Spillage: Estimates range from 240-520 million gallons
The biggest oil spill in history was deliberately caused by Iraqi soldiers during the Gulf War. As the Iraqis retreated from Kuwait, they opened oil well and pipeline valves in an attempt to block American forces from advancing. The oil pouring into the Gulf created a 4-inch thick oil slick that spread across 4,000 square miles—to put the size in perspective, that’s roughly the size of Lebanon.
Coalition forces were able to seal some open valves with smart bombs, but most containment efforts did not occur until after the war ended, making it difficult to estimate the full scale of the spill. This is unique point in history when a natural resource, and specifically pollution, was used as a war tactic.
BP Deepwater Horizon
Date: April 2010Location: Gulf of MexicoSpillage: ~206-210 million gallons
An oil well explosion on BP’s Deepwater Horizon is the largest accidental spill in history. Eleven people were killed and it took three months to cap the well. Skimmers, barricades, and nearly 2 million gallons of dispersants were used in the intensive containment efforts. An estimated 2.5 million gallons of oil escaped into the Gulf per day, contaminating 572 miles of shoreline and causing extensive damage to marine and wildlife habitats, as well as fishing and tourism industries.
Ixtoc 1 Oil Spill
Date: June 1979Location: Bay of Campeche (Mexico)Spillage: 140 million gallons
The third largest spill in history was another oil well explosion. The petroleum company Pemex’s Ixtoc 1 rig exploded and then collapsed, gushing 10,000 to 30,000 barrels of oil into the Bay of Campeche for 10 months. The resulting oil slick extended to 1100 square miles. The damaged well was finally capped using mud, steel, iron, and lead balls.
Atlantic Empress Oil Spill
Date: July 1979 Location: Trinidad and TobagoSpillage: 90 million gallons
In the midst of a tropical storm, two large supertankers—the Atlantic Empress and the Aegean Captain—collided off the coast of Tobago in the Caribbean Sea and killed 26 crew members. Both vessels caught fire and began to leak crude oil after the collision.
The spill response efforts included firefighting and the use of dispersants.The fire on the Aegean Captain was contained, but the Atlantic Empress remained ablaze and was towed out to sea where another explosion eventually sank the vessel about one month after the initial collision. About 287,000 tons of oil was spilled from the Atlantic Empress alone, making this the largest ship-source spill ever recorded and one of the few times in history when two tankers have collided.
Fergana Valley Oil Spill
When: March 1992Where: UzbekistanAmount spilled: 88 million gallons
Fergana Valley, an area known for oil refining, was the site the largest land-based oil spill in history. A well blowout spewed about 88 million gallons of oil into the valley, where it caught fire and burned for two months. The oil was absorbed into the ground, impeding spill cleanup efforts.
Need to make sure you’re protected from the damaging effects of a spill incident? Falvey Vessel Pollution Insurance offers the largest spill response network in the industry, ensuring the fastest response possible during those crucial first moments of an event. We also offer damage mitigation, cleanup, and cost accounting to cover you from further damage or liability after a spill occurs. Contact us to learn more.
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The threat of oil spills is one of the major factors in terms of environmental dangers in shipping, and they highlight the risks you might face when shipping internationally. We encourage you to visit our vessel pollution insurance page to see what we can do for you to keep you covered such an event occur. Brokers should make sure that their vessel pollution policies are up-to-date and current to make sure there’s no lapse that would void coverage. Oil spills in particular can happen in different ways. Check out our top sources of oil spills to see how such events can occur while shipping.
