OIL SPILL CASE STUDY - Sea Empress
Incident
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| Fig.1The Sea Empress (Photo care of Peter Dyrynda) Peter Dyrynda |
On the 15th February 1996, the Liberian owned tanker Sea Empress carrying 140,000 tonnes of North Sea crude oil, was on route from Scotland to the Texaco refinery in Milford Haven when it ran aground at St Ann’s Head.
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| Fig.2South Wales - Location of the Sea Empress oil spill (Photo care of Peter Dyrynda) Peter Dyrynda |
The single-hulled tanker Sea Empress was built in Spain, owned and skippered by a Norwegian, registered in Cyprus, managed from Glasgow, chartered by the French, crewed by Russians and was flying a Liberian ‘flag of convenience’. The Sea Empress was carrying North Sea crude oil and approximately 360 tonnes of heavy fuel oil.
The South Wales coastline is a predominantly high wave energy with rocky shores but with some sandy beaches. It has a coastline with deep insets such as the natural harbour at Milford Haven. The spill from the stricken tanker was the UK’s third largest to date (after the Braer and the Torrey Canyon), and it may have been the most destructive.
