The Sea Empress Oil Spill : Environmental Impact and Recovery

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 clean-up at sea (through chemical dispersion) and on shore, minimised environmental impact. Nevertheless, there were adverse effects on fisheries, wildlife – particularly overwintering birds, tourism and amenity. (Human health studies have not been completed). Recovery, although not complete, has been encouraging although some wildlife populations remain depleted and further monitoring is needed, including of fish stocks. The U.K. Government has responded to recommendations by the Sea Empress Environmental Evaluation Committee (SEEEC), agreeing to continued monitoring and research, as well as reviews of aspects of operational response and clean-up and to the need for national and local contingency plans for impact assessment. INTRODUCTION When the Sea Empress went aground within a kilometre of the shore at the entrance to Milford Haven in South West Wales (Figure 1) on 15 February 1996, and particularly after a week of attempted salvage during which about 72,000 tonnes of crude oil were released, a prognosis of the severest environmental damage was widely accepted. For this was an area of unrivalled coastal and marine resources in the U.K., the location of its only Coastal National Park, with 35 designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest, two National Nature Reserves and one of only three U.K. marine Nature Reserves: sites within the area had also received special European status, particularly to conserve rare and vulnerable bird species. Furthermore the area had an important tourist industry, principally dependent on its natural beauty, wildlife, and clean beaches. To reinforce the drama of an impending disaster, TV and press cameras had a cliff platform adjacent to the drifting vessel during the prolonged period of oil loss. Now, three years later, we are able to analyse the extent of the initial environmental damage and subsequent recovery as a result of numerous and detailed investigations, and to identify organisational changes which should reduce such damage and provide a sounder basis for damage assessment in the future. These aspects are described in the Report of the Sea Empress Environmental Evaluation Committee (Sea Empress Environmental Evaluation Committee Final Report, 1998) and the Proceedings of the Sea Empress Oil Spill Conference (Edwards, R, and Sime, H, in press). The former, primarily for the U.K. Government, has received a response broadly accepting the report’s recommendations. Independent investigations and reviews on other aspects of the spill, particularly operational responses and salvage are in progress. MAJOR FACTORS REDUCING IMPACTS Environmental impacts of the spill were far less severe than was initially anticipated principally because: