Oil Spill Cleanup: Role of Environmental Biotechnology - Applied Environmental Biotechnology: Present Scenario and Future Trends - page 130

Table 9.1 Ten most disastrous oil spills in the world. (Cohen 2002 ; Briney 2011 )

Sl. No. Name and

Location

Cause Type of

oil spill

Amount
(million
gallons)

Year Area of

damage

Comment

Gulf War,
Kuwait (Briney
2011 )

Deliberate
Sabotage

Inland
and
marine

240-360 1991 Persian Gulf Little damage. Largest

oil spill

Deepwater Hori-
zon/BP oil spill,
Gulf of Mexico
(Cleaveland
2010 ; Briney
2011 ; Cohn
2010 )

Wellhead
blowout at the
Deepwater
Horizon

Marine 205 2010 Gulf of

Mexico

Extensive damage to
gulf's fishing and tour-
ism industry. Largest
marine oil spill

Ixtoc 1 oil well
(ERCO 1982 )

Wellhead
blowout

Marine 140 1979 Bay of

Campeche,
Mexico

Little damage to
benthic and epibenthic
community. Littoral
and intertidal commu-
nities affected

Atlantic
Empress, Trini-
dad, and Tobago
(Casselman
2011 ; Briney
2011 )

Collision of
supertank-
ers, Atlantic
empress,
and Aegean
Captain

Marine 90 1979 - Minor shore pollution

reported

Fergana Valley,
Uzbekistan
(Briney 2011 ;
Casselman
2011 )

Unknown Inland 88 1992 Fergana

Valley

Largest inland oil spill

ABT Summer,
off the coast of
Angola (Cas-
selman 2011 ;
Briney 2011 )

Explosion Marine 80 1991 High seas, off

the coast of
Angola

Little damage

Nowruz oil
field, Persian
Gulf (Briney
2011 ; Casselman
2011 )

Collision and
bombing

Marine 80 1983 Persian Gulf No information

Castellio de
Bellver, off
Saldanha Bay,
South Africa
(Briney 2011 )

Fire Marine 79 1983 Off Saldanha

Bay, South
Africa

Damage to local fish-
ing stocks minimal;
however, 1500 gannets
who gathered on nearby
island were oiled

Amoco Cadiz,
off Brittany,
France (Bourne
1979 ; Briney
2011 )

Collision Marine 69 1978 Brittany,

France

200 miles of coastline
of Brittany polluted

Odyssey oil
spill, Nova
Scotia, Canada
(Briney 2011 )

Bad weather
and fire

Marine 43 1988 Off Nova

Scotia coast,
Canada

No information