OIL SPILL CASE STUDY - Sea Empress

Oil Spill Prediction

Fig.1The Sea Empress

72,000 tonnes of light crude oil were released from the Sea Empress at the entrance to Milford Haven, South Wales over a 7 day period in February 1996, in an area of exceptional environmental value for wildlife, tourism and natural beauty. Natural factors (time of year, wind direction) coupled with effective cleanup at sea (through chemical dispersion) and on shore helped to minimise the environmental impact.

The coastline within Milford Haven was heavily oiled, and outside the Haven much of the oil moved south and then eastwards parallel to the south coast of Pembrokeshire, affecting this coastline as far as Pending Sands in Carmarthen Bay. Some oil reached Skomer Island north west of Milford Haven but no oil was observed north of St David’s Head. Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel received light oiling, and some pellets of oil reached the Irish coast, however no oil reached the coastline of mainland Devon and Cornwall.

The pollution was at its height during late February and early March of 1996 at which time huge slicks were at sea, and many shores were experiencing large-scale bulk oil pollution. By April, as a result of natural dispersion and the clean-up operation, little bulk oil remained at sea and many shores had regained a semblance of normality.