The other oil spills
PEMBINA PIPELINE
Aug. 1, 2000
Pine River, B.C.
420,000 gallons
Pipelines out of Alberta
criss-cross beneath
northern B.C. One burst 10
years ago, spewing a
2.1-kilometre slick into the
Pine River. Now, a battle is
heating up against
Enbridges proposed 1,170
km pipeline, which would
flow crude from the oil
sands to the Great Bear
Rainforest on the B.C. coast.
IXTOC I RIG
June 3, 1979
Bay of Campeche,
Gulf of Mexico
154 million gallons
Before Deepwater Horizon,
this was the worst rig spill
ever. Also set off by a
blowout, it took 290
days to plug. Pemex,
Mexicos national
oil company, tried
mud, metal balls
and the ridiculously
named cap The Sombrero.
A relief well finally did
the job, too late for
miles of beaches
from Mexico
to the U.S.
VLCC METULA
Aug. 9, 1974
Strait of Magellan, Chile
17 million gallons
Trying to navigate a narrow
passage through a tumultu-
ous storm, the massive
supertanker ran aground,
emptying light Arabian
crude into a remote part of
Tierra del Fuego. No cleanup
of the shore was ever done
on the surface, it
solidified into asphalt, but
dig a little and its still soft
and oozing.
EXXON REFINERIES
1840 to 1950
Greenpoint, Brooklyn
30 million gallons
Soil, earth and water were
poisoned by decades of
unchecked oil seepage.
Residents first complained
in 1950; in 1990, New York
State told Exxon to clean up
the mess, but didnt give a
deadine. In 2007, attorney
general Mario Cuomo sued
Exxon, BP and Chevron.
Theres still a slick floating
on Newtown Creek.
NORTH
AM ERICA
SOUT H
AME R I CA
PETROBRAS REFINERY
July 18, 2000
Curitiba, Brazil
4 million gallons
The first year of the new
millennium saw multiple oil
spills and near-misses in
environmentally sensitive
Brazil. One saw a tanker
sink to the bottom of the
Amazon River, while
another washed up on Rios
beaches. The biggest
formed an eight-kilometre
black slick on the tourist-
beloved Igau River.
RESEARCH BY DENISE BALKISSOON
AMOCO CADIZ TANKER
March 16, 1978
Brittany, France
70 million gallons
Gale force winds drove the
Liberian tanker into the
Breton rocks as it moved
crude from the Persian Gulf
to Rotterdam. The French
government scraped the
oiled wetlands, a failed
experiment that worsened
the problem. Most of the
marshes never came back.
AFRICA
ATLANTIC EMPRESS AND
AEGEAN CAPTAIN TANKERS
July 19, 1979
Trinidad and Tobago
95 million gallons
A collision between two
supertankers sent a gusher
into the Caribbean Sea when
the Greek Atlantic Empress
hit Mobils Aegean Captain.
The Empress (which had
spilled before) caught fire,
and couldnt be plugged or
towed. It burned and
exploded for days before
sinking.
GRAPHICS CATHERINE FARLEY/TORONTO STAR
TORREY CANYON TANKER UNKNOWN
March 16, 1967, Cornwall, England 1993
40 million gallons Saudi Arabia
When the Torrey Canyon supertanker 700 million gallons
struck a reef, it set off the first major This top secret spill was just
modern oil spill. The British government revealed by American engineer
tried to burn the oil by dropping 42 bombs, Nick Pozzi, who claims he helped
but high tides smothered the flames. government-owned Saudi
Next, they used napalm. Aramco discreetly clean up an
epic mess. Using empty super-
tankers to skim the surface of the
Persian Gulf, Pozzi said he
successfully retrieved 85 per
cent of the oil in what could be
the largest spill ever.
KOMINEFT PIPELINE
Oct. 1, 1994
Kolva River, Russia
31 million gallons
Like Exxon Valdez, this
spill occurred where
cold temperatures
impede evaporation and
cleaning. A dike
designed to catch leaks
from Russias aging
pipes burst, and the
inland spill covered 170
acres of Siberian tundra,
bogs and marshland.
EUROPE RUSSIA
HEBEI SPIRIT TANKER
Dec. 7, 2007
Yellow Sea, South Korea
2.8 million gallons
South Koreas worst oil
spill occurred when a
Samsung crane barge
bashed three holes into
the anchored crude
AUSTRALIA carrier Hebei Spirit. The
incident incited criticism
of single-hulled tankers,
which have only one
metal plate between
cargo and ocean.
SHELL PIPELINES
2009
Niger Delta, Nigeria HORTA BARBOSA AND MONTARA PLATFORM
4.3 million gallons SEA STAR TANKERS Aug. 24, 2009
Thats the amount Shell
Dec. 19, 1972 Timor Sea, Australia
admitted to spilling last
Oman 1.8 million gallons
year whether from 35 million gallons Near two coral reefs, this
neglect or sabotage, Crews from both boats were watery highway for endangered
spills the size of forced to abandon their whales, sea turtles and three
Deepwater Horizon flaming vessels after the types of dolphins was the
occur annually here. Brazilian Horta Barbosa and catchall for a 105-day oil leak
There are 2,000 official the South Korean Sea Star caused by a blowout. The Thai
major spillage sites in collided in the Gulf of corporation that owns the
Nigeria. Oman. The Barbosa was Montara well, PTTEP, has said
extinguished, but the Sea its nearby wells might have the
Star sank on Christmas Eve. same risk.