The Worst Major Oil Spills in History

When most Americans think about the world's largest oil spills, the Exxon Valdez comes to mind. In many ways the Exxon Valdez oil spill has become synonymous with the worst oil spills in history. But as catastrophic as the Exxon Valdez oil spill was, in terms of the number of gallons of oil spilled, the Exxon Valdez oil spill was frighteningly small in comparison to the largest oil spills in history.

A List of 12 of the Largest Oil Spills in History

12. The Torrey Canyon Oil Spill - March 18, 1967
Location: Scilly Isles, UK
Amount of Oil Spilled: 25 - 36 million gallons

The Torrey Canyon was one of the first big supertankers. It was also the source of one of the first major oil spills. Although the ship was originally built to carry 60,000 tons, it was enlarged to a 120,000 ton capacity. She was carrying this full capacity of oil when she struck a reef off the coast of Cornwall.

The spill created an oil slick measuring 270 square miles. It contaminated approximately 180 miles of coastland and killed over 15,000 sea birds and enormous numbers of aquatic animals before the spill was finally contained.

11. The Sea Star Oil Spill - December 19, 1972
Location: Gulf of Oman
Amount of Oil Spilled: 35.3 million gallons

The South Korean supertanker, Sea Star, collided with a Brazilian tanker, the Horta Barbosa off the coast of Oman

10. Odyssey Oil Spill - November 10, 1988
Location: off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada
Amount of Oil Spilled: 40.7 million gallons

This spill occurred approximately 700 nautical miles off the coast of Newfoundland.

9. M/T Haven Tanker Oil Spill - April 11, 1991
Location: Genoa, Italy
Amount of Oil Spilled: 45 million gallons

This oil tanker exploded and sank off the coast of Italy killing six people and leaking its remaining oil into the Mediterranean for 12 years after the sinking. The source of the explosion was alleged to be the poor state of repair the ship was in. Supposedly the Haven was scrapped after being hit by a missile during the Iran-Iraq War and then put back into operation.

8. ABT Summer Oil Spill - May 28, 1991
Location: approximately 700 nautical miles off the coast of Angola
Amount of Oil Spilled: 51-81 million gallons

This ship exploded off the coast of Angola creating an oil leak that discharged massive quantities of oil into the ocean.

7. Amoco Cadiz Oil Spill - March 16, 1978
Location: Portsall, France
Amount of Oil Spilled: 69 million gallons

One of the most notorious oil spills in history, the Amoco Cadiz was caught in a fierce winter storm that damaged its rudder. The ship put out a distress call that it was no longer able to maneuver. Several ships responded, but none were able to stop the massive ship from running aground. On March 17^th, the gigantic supertanker broke in two sending all of its 69 million gallons of oil into the English Channel. The ship was later sunk by the French.

The wreck of the Amoco Cadiz is located HERE.

6. Castillo de Bellver Oil Spill - August 6, 1983
Location: Saldanha Bay, South Africa
Amount of Oil Spilled: 79 million gallons

The Castillo de Bellver caught fire approximately 70 miles north west of Cape Town, South Africa. The ship drifted before breaking in two 25 miles off the coast. The ships stern sank in deep water still carrying approximately 31 million gallons of oil. The bow section, was towed away and deliberately sunk.

To read more about the Castillo de Bellver Oil Spill, click HERE.

5. Nowruz Oil Field Spill - February 10 to September 18, 1983
Location: Persian Gulf, Iran
Amount of Oil Spilled: 80 million gallons

This spill was the result of a tanker collision with an oil platform. The platform tilted and was closed, but the weakened platform collapsed sending oil spewing into the Persian Gulf. Delays in getting the leak capped were caused by the ongoing Iran-Iraq War.

To read a detailed description of this oil leak and subsequent oil leaks in the Nowruz Oil Field, click HERE.

4. Kolva River Oil Spill - September 8, 1994
Location: Kolva River, Russia
Amount of Oil Spilled: 84 million gallons

A ruptured pipeline caused this enormous oil spill. The pipeline had been leaking for eight months, but the oil was contained by a dike. When the dike collapsed, it sent millions of gallons of oil into the Russian Arctic.

To read more about the Kolva River Oil Spill, click HERE.

3. Atlantic Empress Oil Spill - July 19, 1979
Location: Off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago
Amount of Oil Spilled: 90 million gallons

This Greek oil tanker was caught in a tropical storm and collided with another ship, the Aegean Captain. The damaged ship continued to lose oil before finally sinking on August 3, 1979.

2. Ixtoc 1 Oil Spill - June 3, 1979 - March 23, 1980
Location: Bay of Campeche off Ciudad del Carmen, Mexico
Amount of Oil Spilled: 140 million gallons

This oil spill didn't involve a tanker, but rather an offshore oil well. Pemex, a state-owned Mexican petroleum company was drilling an oil well when a blowout occurred. The oil ignited causing the drilling rig to collapse. Oil began gushing out of the well into the Gulf of Mexico at a rate of 10,000 to 30,000 barrels a day for almost an entire year beforeworkers were finally able to cap the well and stop the leak.

1. Arabian Gulf/Kuwait - January 19, 1991
Location: Persian Gulf, Kuwait
Amount of Oil Spilled: 380-520 million gallons

Ironically, the worst oil spill in human history wasn't the result of an accident. During the Gulf War, Iraqi forces, attempting to thwart a potential landing of American soldiers, opened the valves at an offshore oil terminal and dumped oil from several tankers. The oil they released created a 4-inch thick oil slick that covered 4000 square miles. To put it in perspective, that's enough oil to cover the entire state of Rhode Island one foot deep in oil.

How does the Exxon Valdez oil spill rank in comparison?
When the Exxon Valdez ran aground on March 24, 1989 off the coast of Alaska, it spilled 10.8 million gallons of oil along 1100 miles of Alaskan coast. The spill could have been much worse - the Valdez was carrying 53 million gallons.

In terms of sheer volume, the Exxon Valdez spill ranks as the 35^th worst oil spill in history. As frightening as that spill was, it's even more frightening to consider that there are 34 oil spills even worse.

Additional Reading:

For comprehensive information regarding oils spills, click HERE.

To read about other oil spills, click HERE.

To read BBC News' comparison of the worst oil spills in history, click HERE.