Since the dawn of modern oil exploitation in the 19^th century, a sad but inevitable truth has rung true: accidents happen and oil spills. The ten biggest oil disasters in the oil and gas industry and gas industry in this list amount to a cumulative hydrocarbons loss of 40.8 million barrels and cost 53 lives:

9. Amoco Cadiz Oil Spill

When: March 16, 1978
Where: 3.1 nautical miles (5 km) from the coast of Brittany, France
Casualties: None
Amount spilled: 1.64 million barrels (69 million gallons)

En route from the Persian Gulf to Rotterdam, Netherlands, the Amoco Cadiz was caught in a winter storm that caused damaged to the ship’s rudder and rendered her listless. The Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) ran aground just off the coast of Portsall and immediately began haemorrhaging oil.

The vessel split in two and within a fortnight the entire load of 227,000 tonnes had spilled into the English Channel polluting 360 km of Breton coastline from Brest to Saint Brieuc.

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