Ushant would ever see. During World War II, a force of British Commandos and US Army Rangers of the 29th Provisional Rangers successfully attacked a German radar installation on the island. In March 1978, the oil tanker "Amoco Cadiz" ran aground at Portsall about from the island, leading to major pollution of the Brittany coast. According to an old Breton proverb, "" ("He who sees Molène sees his pains / He who sees Ushant sees his blood / He who sees Sein sees his end / He who sees Groix sees his cross"). This proverb is related to the area around
Milford Haven Waterway first oil terminal and oil refinery in 1960; unfortunately this coincided with a serious oil-spill from "Esso Portsmouth", the first oil tanker to unload there. Since then, there have been numerous spills of varying magnitude, providing the port authority with a great deal of experience. Uniquely at the time, the harbourmaster instituted the principle of cleaning up first and allocating the blame (and the responsibility of paying for it) later. There are two large oil refineries nearby which represent one fifth of the United Kingdom's oil refining capacity. In 1978 the tanker "Christos Bitas" ran aground off the Haven, spilling