Oil spill standard in the coastal regions. A VLCC tanker can carry of crude oil. This is about eight times the amount spilled in the widely known "Exxon Valdez" oil spill. In this spill, the ship ran aground and dumped of oil into the ocean in March 1989. Despite efforts of scientists, managers, and volunteers over 400,000 seabirds, about 1,000 sea otters, and immense numbers of fish were killed. Considering the volume of oil carried by sea, however, tanker owners' organisations often argue that the industry's safety record is excellent, with only a tiny fraction of a percentage of oil cargoes carried
Jakob Maersk oil spill Jakob Maersk oil spill The Jakob Maersk was an oil tanker registered in Denmark that struck a sand bank on January 29, 1975 while entering the port of Leixões, Portugal, causing a major oil spill. Built in 1966, the tanker was owned by Maerskline Navigation Company, a subsidiary of A.P. Moller, and contracted by Shell Oil Company consisting of a crew of seventeen at the time of the accident. Seven of those seventeen crew members died during the explosion. "Jakob Maersk" was carrying 88,000 tons of crude oil from Kharg Island in Iran while entering the Port of Leixões in