The Environment Chronicle

The "Sea Empress" strikes a rock off the Welsh coast and spills c. 70,000 t crude, killing dolphins, seals, rare sea birds and crustaceans.

Sodium circulating in the secondary system (loop C) breaks the casing of the cylindrical thermometer, which explodes and cause the sodium to burn in the main system. Sodium escaped from loop C (source: Greenpeace).

On 20 June 1994 the Apollo Sea, a bulk ore carrier, sank near Dassen Island on the west coast, South Africa. She was carrying some 2 400 tonnes of fuel oil at that time. The oil spill had a major impact on the coastline of the Cape Peninsula. Besides affecting large numbers of African penguins, the amenity beaches in the area were also badly polluted.

On 13 March 1994 the oil tanker Nassia and the cargo vessel Shipbroker collided in the Bosporus strait. At the time of the accident the Nassia was carrying 98,600 tons of crude oil. Both vessel immediately caught fire. The accident caused extensive marine and air pollution in the Straits, Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara.

On 8 December 1993 the French-flag container ship Sherbro lost a number of containers overboard in the English Channel. As a result, hundreds of thousands of plastic sachets containing the pesticide Apron plus entered the sea and were subsequently washed up on the coasts of France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.

On August 10, 1993, a freighter and two tug-assisted barges collided near the entrance of Tampa Bay, Florida. The collision resulted in a fire on one of the barges and caused a major oil spill. Over 32,000 gallons of jet fuel, diesel, and gasoline and about 330,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil spilled from the barges. Despite emergency cleanup efforts, the oil fouled 13 miles of beaches and caused injury to birds, sea turtles, mangrove habitat, seagrasses, salt marshes, shellfish beds, water column resources and bottom sediments.

The Danish supertanker "Maersk Navigator" is rammed off the coast of Sumatra and loses an unknown amount of oil.

The Braer suffers mechanical problems and is driven towards the Shetland Islands, where it breaks up, spilling c. 85,000 t crude oil into the sea.

The surrounding area is seriously contaminated by an o-nitroanisole mixture. Irritation of the eyes, nose and skin, as well as digestive system, suffered by at least 192, doctors report increased incidence of allergies and infections in the affected area.

The Aegean Sea strikes a rock off the coast of Spain, spilling 1,000 t crude oil into the bay of La Coruna.

The Katina P. loses 72,000 t oil.

A faulty pipe allows a large cloud of gaseous chlorine to escape into a production facility at the Buna AG in Schkopau. At least 186 sustain serious respiratory damage.

Documentation of accidents in industrial facilities or involving hazardous substances. 2 editions.

The "ABT Summer", carrying 260,000 t oil, catches fire off the coast of Angola.

The "Haven" catches fire and sinks in the Mediterranean, carrying 143,000 t crude oil.

The cruiser "Moby Prince" rams the tanker "Agip Abruzzo". 140 die, the Mediterranean is polluted with a large amount of oil.

The Gulf War oil spill was one of the largest oil spills in history, resulting from the Gulf War in 1991. The apparent strategic goal was to foil a potential landing by US Marines. It also made commandeering oil reserves dangerous for US forces as visibility and movement were inhibited. The immediate reports from Baghdad said that American air strikes had caused a discharge of oil from two tankers. Coalition forces determined the main source of oil to be the Sea Island terminal in Kuwait. On January 26, three US F-117 fighter-bombers destroyed pipelines to prevent further spillage into the Persian Gulf. Several other sources of oil were found to be active: tankers and a damaged Kuwaiti oil refinery near Mina Al Ahmadi, tankers near Bubiyan Island, and Iraq's Mina Al Bakr terminal.