List of oil spills
{{short description|List of oil spills that have occurred throughout the world}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
This is a reverse-chronological list of oil spills that have occurred throughout the world and spill(s) that are currently ongoing. Quantities are measured in tonnes of crude oil with one tonne roughly equal to 308 US gallons, 256 Imperial gallons, 7.33 barrels, or 1165 litres. This calculation uses a median value of 0.858 for the specific gravity of light crude oil; actual values can range from 0.816 to 0.893, so the amounts shown below are inexact. They are also estimates, because the actual volume of an oil spill is difficult to measure exactly.
Confirmed spills
{{incomplete list|date=September 2013|spill / vessel=Cliffs Natural Resources|location=Pointe-Noire, Sept-Îles, Quebec, Canada|Owner=Cliff Natural Resources|Link=https://inter-l01-uat.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/infoceans/en/infocean/oil-spill-sept-iles-bay|min tonnes=5|max tonnes=8}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|20000}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|20000}}
|
|-
| {{SS|Torrey Canyon||2}}
| {{UK}}, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly
| {{dts|format=dmy|1967|3|18}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|80000}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|119000}}
|
|-
| Mississippi River oil spill (1962–1963)
| {{USA}}, Savage and Mankato, Minnesota
| {{dts|format=dmy|1962|12|8}}{{snd}}23 January 1963
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|11000}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|15000}}
|
|
|-
| {{USA}}, Ocean City, Maryland
| {{dts|format=dmy|1958|12|30}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|21000}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|21000}}
|
| {{cite web |url=http://www.shipwreckexpo.com/mdshipwreckafricanqueen.htm |title=The African Queen Shipwreck |year=2010 |work=ShipwreckExpo |access-date=28 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310162721/http://www.shipwreckexpo.com/mdshipwreckafricanqueen.htm |archive-date=10 March 2012 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://delmardustpan.blogspot.com/2007/12/african-queen.html |title=African Queen |author=Howard (Delmar, Delaware) |date=30 December 2007 |work=Delmar DustPan |access-date=5 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523141237/http://delmardustpan.blogspot.com/2007/12/african-queen.html |archive-date=23 May 2012 |url-status=live }}
|-
| {{USA}}, Avila Beach, California
| {{dts|1950}}s{{snd}}1996
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|1300}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|1300}}
|
|-
| {{USA}}, Guadalupe, California
| {{dts|1950}}s{{snd}}1994
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|29000}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|29000}}
|
|-
| Sliedrecht
| {{ZAF}}, Cape Town, Table Bay
| {{dts|November 1953}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|1000}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|1000}}
|
|-
| SS Jacob Luckenbach
| {{USA}}, Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, San Francisco, California
| {{dts|format=dmy|1953|07|14}}{{snd}}present
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|1484}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|1484}}
|
|-
|Esso Wheeling
|{{ZAF}}, Quoin Point near Cape Town
|{{dts|format=dmy|1948|11|04}}
|
|
|
|-
|Berth 157
|{{USA}}, Wilmington
|{{dts|format=dmy|1948|06|02}}
|
|
|
|-
|SS Douglas Victory
|{{USA}}, Wilmington, California
|{{dts|format=dmy|1948|03|27}}
|
|
|
|-
|SS River Raisin
|{{USA}}
|1948
|
|
|
|-
|Lincoln
|{{ZAF}}, Quoin Point near Cape Town
|1946
|
|
|
|-
| {{USA}}, Newtown Creek, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York
| {{dts|1940}}s{{snd}}1950s
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|55200}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|97400}}
|
|-
|Seria Field 14 wells
|{{BRN}}
|{{dts|format=dmy|1945|6|12}}{{snd}}September 1945
|style="text-align:center;"| unknown
|style="text-align:center;"| unknown
|
|{{Cite news|url = http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000563/19450630/017/0002|title = 14 Brunei oil wells ablaze|date = 30 June 1945|access-date = 21 January 2015|newspaper = Dundee Evening Telegraph}}{{Cite news|url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1969064/japs_fire_west_borneos_rich_seria_oil/|title = Japs fire west Borneo's rich Seria oil field|date = 13 June 1945|access-date = 12 March 2015|newspaper = Del Rio News Herald|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160307022051/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1969064/japs_fire_west_borneos_rich_seria_oil/|archive-date = 7 March 2016|url-status = live}}{{Cite news|url = http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article161100744|title = Last oil field fire out.|date = 19 October 1945|access-date = 12 March 2015|newspaper = Victor Harbour Times|location = Victor Harbor, South Australia, Australia}}
|-
|Scuttled tanker El Grillo
|February 1944{{snd}}present
|style="text-align:center;"| unknown
|style="text-align:center;"| unknown
|
|-
| {{SS|Frank H. Buck}} / {{SS|President Coolidge}} collision
| {{USA}}, San Francisco Bay, California
| {{dts|format=dmy|1937|03|06}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|8870}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|8870}}
|
| {{cite journal | author=Harry R. Carter | title=Oil and California's Seabirds: An Overview | journal=Marine Ornithology | url=http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/31_1/31_1_1_carter.pdf | volume=31 | page=2 | year=2003 | access-date=2 June 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100602073745/http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/31_1/31_1_1_carter.pdf | archive-date=2 June 2010 | url-status=live }}
|-
| {{USA}}, Kern County, California
| {{dts|format=dmy|1910|3|14}}{{snd}}10 September 1911
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|1230000}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|1230000}}
|
|-
| {{UK}}, Isles of Scilly
| {{dts|format=dmy|1907|12|14}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|7400}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|7400}}
|
|-
| {{SS|Petriana}}
| {{AUS}}, Port Phillip, Victoria
| {{dts|format=dmy|1903|11|30}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|1300}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|1300}}
|-
|Copley No. 1 Well
| {{USA}}, Glenville, West Virginia
|{{dts|format=dmy|1900|09|22}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|1610}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{nts|1610}}
|}
Investigation underway
Note: The "flow rate" column applies to leaking wells, pipelines, etc., and is often used to estimate the total amount of oil spilled. The "full cargo" column applies to vessels, vehicles, etc., and represents the maximum amount of oil that could be spilled. The "spilled" columns indicate the total amount of oil that has been released to the environment so far, and should be based on official estimates found in referenced sources whenever possible. When official estimates vary, use the "min tonnes" and "max tonnes" columns to show the range of estimates (minimum and maximum) in metric tonnes (i.e. 1 tonne = 1,000 kg).
Oil spills in the United States
This graphic is limited to oil spills that occurred between 1969 and 2015 (graphic has not been updated for newer spills) and that affected US waters (land-based spills are not depicted). Unlike the units of tonnes used on the rest of this page, the graphic's numbers are presented in millions of US gallons (abbreviated as "MG" in the graphic), where 1 MG is roughly equal to 3,250 tonnes of crude oil.
File:Largest Oil Spills Affecting U.S. Waters Since 1969.jpg Waters Since 1969|border]]
See also
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
External links
{{Commons category|Oil spills}}
- {{cite web | author=Information Services | title=Data & Statistics: Accidental Marine oil Spillages Since 1970 | url=http://www.itopf.com/information-services/data-and-statistics/statistics/index.html | publisher=International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation | date=7 May 2010 | access-date=18 May 2010 | archive-date=12 May 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512033448/http://www.itopf.com/information-services/data-and-statistics/statistics/index.html | url-status=dead }}
- {{cite news | author=Elena Egawhary | title=How big is the Deepwater Horizon oil spill? | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8664684.stm | work=BBC News | date=7 May 2010 | access-date=18 May 2010}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20090623220136/http://www.maritime-connector.com/ContentDetails/1479/gcgid/193/lang/English/Tanker-Incidents.wshtml Tanker Incidents at Maritime Connector]
- [http://www.worldspills.com WorldSpills.com] View World Oil spill on a map, Images, descriptions, and references of more than 300 major oil spills
- [https://www.marineinsight.com/environment/11-major-oil-spills-of-the-maritime-world/amp/ 11 Major Oil Spills Of The Maritime World]
- [https://incidentnews.noaa.gov/map NOAA oil spills incidents map]
{{Disasters}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oil spills}}