{"id":40307,"date":"2024-09-30T16:10:53","date_gmt":"2024-09-30T20:10:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/?p=40307"},"modified":"2024-09-30T16:11:06","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T20:11:06","slug":"top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 5 Worst Oil Spills in History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Offshore drilling has long been a cornerstone of the global energy industry, but beneath the promise of oil extraction lives a dark reality \u2013 where they drill, they spill. The truth is that offshore drilling is a dirty and dangerous business that puts fragile ecosystems, marine wildlife, and our coastlines at constant risk of catastrophic oil spills.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As long as we keep relying on toxic fossil fuels, these catastrophes will continue to happen.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s take a look at the top five worst offshore oil spills in history:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Persian Gulf [January 1991]<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On January 21, 1991, Iraqi troops set fire to oil wells as they withdrew from Kuwait, releasing an estimated 380-520 million gallons of oil into the gulf. The slick from this spill reached a jaw-dropping 101 miles by 42 miles in size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BP Deepwater Horizon [April 2010]<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On April 20, 2010, BP\u2019s Deepwater Horizo<\/em>n exploded, burned, and sank into the Gulf of Mexico. The spill ultimately leaked approximately 206 million gallons of oil, killed 11 workers, and injured 17 others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ixtoc 1 [June 1979]<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In June 1979, an exploratory well exploded in the Bay of Campeche, spilling an estimated 140 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The spill resulted in oil washing up on beaches, devastating tourism and commercial fishing in the area. The previously flourishing shrimp fishery has still not fully recovered today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Atlantic Empress [July 1979]<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On July 19, 1979, the SS Atlantic Empress collided with another tanker, the Aegean Captain, off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago during a tropical storm. The collision led to an estimated 90 million gallons of oil spilling into the Caribbean. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amoco Cadiz [March 1978]<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On March 16, 1978, during a winter storm, the Amoco Cadiz super tanker collided with the Portsall Rocks three miles off the coast of France and ran aground. The tanker split in half, spilling around 69 million gallons of oil into the ocean and contaminating 200 miles of ecologically and culturally important French coastline. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are significant long-term effects of these spills, with oil being found in sediment decades later and animals experiencing extreme sickness and eventual death. As the demand for energy grows, so do the dangers associated with offshore drilling, including the smaller, chronic spills that regularly occur and whose environmental effects are often unaccounted for. Even when fossil fuels reach their intended destination, they emit greenhouse gases and fuel the climate crisis. That\u2019s why Oceana campaigns to protect our coasts and oceans from the threat of offshore drilling, while promoting clean energy methods, like responsibly sourced offshore wind.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Oceana and its allies have protected about 75,000 miles of coastline in the United States and Belize, covering more than 2.5 million square miles of ocean. But there\u2019s still more work to be done.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about Oceana\u2019s campaign to stop offshore drilling<\/a><\/strong> and tackle the climate crisis.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Offshore drilling has long been a cornerstone of the global energy industry, but beneath the promise of oil extraction lives a dark reality \u2013 where they drill, they spill. The truth is that offshore drilling is a dirty and dangerous business that puts fragile ecosystems, marine wildlife, and our coastlines at constant risk of catastrophic … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":298,"featured_media":40130,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"location":[],"expedition":[],"campaign":[],"ppma_author":[334],"class_list":["post-40307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","infinite-scroll-item"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTop 5 Worst Oil Spills in History | Oceana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As the demand for energy grows, so do the dangers associated with offshore drilling. Read more for the top five worst oil spills in history.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Top 5 Worst Oil Spills in History\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As the demand for energy grows, so do the dangers associated with offshore drilling. Read more for the top five worst oil spills in history.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Oceana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/oceana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-09-30T20:10:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-09-30T20:11:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2024\/09\/Drilling_Carousel2024_V2.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jessica McLean\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Oceana\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Oceana\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jessica McLean\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jessica McLean\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#\/schema\/person\/faeb189c76b1c474ad135afa0535b8ab\"},\"headline\":\"Top 5 Worst Oil Spills in History\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-30T20:10:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-30T20:11:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/\"},\"wordCount\":464,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2024\/09\/Drilling_Carousel2024_V2.png\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/\",\"name\":\"Top 5 Worst Oil Spills in History | Oceana\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2024\/09\/Drilling_Carousel2024_V2.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-30T20:10:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-30T20:11:06+00:00\",\"description\":\"As the demand for energy grows, so do the dangers associated with offshore drilling. Read more for the top five worst oil spills in history.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2024\/09\/Drilling_Carousel2024_V2.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2024\/09\/Drilling_Carousel2024_V2.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":700,\"caption\":\"People cleaning up an oil spill\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/homepage\/home\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Top 5 Worst Oil Spills in History\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/\",\"name\":\"Oceana\",\"description\":\"We are Protecting the World's Oceans.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Oceana\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/06\/oceana-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/06\/oceana-logo.jpg\",\"width\":500,\"height\":500,\"caption\":\"Oceana\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/oceana\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Oceana\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/oceana\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/oceanaorg\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#\/schema\/person\/faeb189c76b1c474ad135afa0535b8ab\",\"name\":\"Jessica McLean\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/00539306ce4a9ea539d2a75654268fd9\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/673ff367d2e1d63c919c5da918ccf999e19dda603a32787baa84d8ef2688e555?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/673ff367d2e1d63c919c5da918ccf999e19dda603a32787baa84d8ef2688e555?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jessica McLean\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/author\/jessicamclean\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Top 5 Worst Oil Spills in History | Oceana","description":"As the demand for energy grows, so do the dangers associated with offshore drilling. Read more for the top five worst oil spills in history.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Top 5 Worst Oil Spills in History","og_description":"As the demand for energy grows, so do the dangers associated with offshore drilling. Read more for the top five worst oil spills in history.","og_url":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/","og_site_name":"Oceana","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/oceana","article_published_time":"2024-09-30T20:10:53+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-09-30T20:11:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":700,"url":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2024\/09\/Drilling_Carousel2024_V2.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Jessica McLean","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Oceana","twitter_site":"@Oceana","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jessica McLean","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/"},"author":{"name":"Jessica McLean","@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#\/schema\/person\/faeb189c76b1c474ad135afa0535b8ab"},"headline":"Top 5 Worst Oil Spills in History","datePublished":"2024-09-30T20:10:53+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-30T20:11:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/"},"wordCount":464,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2024\/09\/Drilling_Carousel2024_V2.png","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/","url":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/","name":"Top 5 Worst Oil Spills in History | Oceana","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2024\/09\/Drilling_Carousel2024_V2.png","datePublished":"2024-09-30T20:10:53+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-30T20:11:06+00:00","description":"As the demand for energy grows, so do the dangers associated with offshore drilling. Read more for the top five worst oil spills in history.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2024\/09\/Drilling_Carousel2024_V2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2024\/09\/Drilling_Carousel2024_V2.png","width":1200,"height":700,"caption":"People cleaning up an oil spill"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/top-5-worst-oil-spills-in-history\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/homepage\/home\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Top 5 Worst Oil Spills in History"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/","name":"Oceana","description":"We are Protecting the World's Oceans.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#organization","name":"Oceana","url":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/06\/oceana-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/06\/oceana-logo.jpg","width":500,"height":500,"caption":"Oceana"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/oceana","https:\/\/x.com\/Oceana","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/oceana\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/oceanaorg"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#\/schema\/person\/faeb189c76b1c474ad135afa0535b8ab","name":"Jessica McLean","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/00539306ce4a9ea539d2a75654268fd9","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/673ff367d2e1d63c919c5da918ccf999e19dda603a32787baa84d8ef2688e555?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/673ff367d2e1d63c919c5da918ccf999e19dda603a32787baa84d8ef2688e555?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jessica McLean"},"url":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/author\/jessicamclean\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":334,"user_id":298,"is_guest":0,"slug":"jessicamclean","display_name":"Jessica McLean","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/673ff367d2e1d63c919c5da918ccf999e19dda603a32787baa84d8ef2688e555?s=96&d=mm&r=g","phone":"","last_name_2":"","last_name":"","first_name":"Jessica McLean","job_title":"","user_url":"","description":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/298"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40307"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40308,"href":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40307\/revisions\/40308"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=40307"},{"taxonomy":"expedition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/expedition?post=40307"},{"taxonomy":"campaign","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campaign?post=40307"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=40307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}