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Chart: Tracking the Fall of Oil Spills from Tankers
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- Oil‑spills from tankers have fallen by more than 90% since the 1970s.
- Improved ship design, stricter regulation and better spill‑response infrastructure are major contributors to the decline.
The dataset comes from the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF) and was visualized by Our World in Data. It tracks the quantity of oil spilled from tanker incidents over time.
| Year | Quantity of oil spilled from tankers (global, tonnes) | Major Incidents |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 383000 | |
| 1971 | 144000 | |
| 1972 | 313000 | Sea Star (Gulf of Oman) |
| 1973 | 159000 | |
| 1974 | 174000 | |
| 1975 | 352000 | |
| 1976 | 365000 | |
| 1977 | 276000 | |
| 1978 | 393000 | Amoco Cadiz (Brittany, France) |
| 1979 | 636000 | Atlantic Empress (Near Trinidad and Tobago) |
| 1980 | 206000 | |
| 1981 | 48000 | |
| 1982 | 12000 | |
| 1983 | 384000 | Castillo de Bellver (Near Cape Town, South Africa) |
| 1984 | 29000 | |
| 1985 | 85000 | |
| 1986 | 19000 | |
| 1987 | 38000 | |
| 1988 | 190000 | |
| 1989 | 164000 | Exxon Valdez (Prince William Sound, Alaska) |
| 1990 | 61000 | |
| 1991 | 431000 | ABT Summer (Offshore Angola) |
| 1992 | 167000 | |
| 1993 | 140000 | |
| 1994 | 130000 | |
| 1995 | 12000 | |
| 1996 | 80000 | |
| 1997 | 72000 | |
| 1998 | 13000 | |
| 1999 | 28000 | |
| 2000 | 14000 | |
| 2001 | 9000 | |
| 2002 | 66000 | |
| 2003 | 43000 | |
| 2004 | 17000 | |
| 2005 | 15000 | |
| 2006 | 12000 | |
| 2007 | 15000 | |
| 2008 | 2000 | |
| 2009 | 3000 | |
| 2010 | 12000 | |
| 2011 | 2000 | |
| 2012 | 1000 | |
| 2013 | 7000 | |
| 2014 | 5000 | |
| 2015 | 7000 | |
| 2016 | 6000 | |
| 2017 | 7000 | |
| 2018 | 116000 | Sanchi (East China Sea) |
| 2019 | 1000 | |
| 2020 | 1000 | |
| 2021 | 10000 | |
| 2022 | 15000 | |
| 2023 | 2000 | |
| 2024 | 10000 |
The table above reveals a dramatic drop in the volume of oil lost from tanker incidents: peaks in the early decades (1970s) have been replaced by far lower levels of spilled oil today. The outliers from earlier decades (with huge single‑events) stand in stark contrast to the much smaller numbers now.
Why Oil Spills from Tankers are Much Rarer
Several factors have driven and clarified the decline. First, international regulation such as double‑hull requirements for oil tankers, improvements in navigation systems and tougher port state controls have raised the baseline safety of tanker operations.
Second, the increasing professionalism of the industry around spill prevention and response means incidents that might have once gone large are caught earlier or mitigated more effectively. Third, better data and transparency now make the remaining risks easier to measure, showing how rare major spills truly are
Are We Out of the Woods Yet?
While the long‑term trend is strongly downward, recent data suggest a degree of stabilization rather than continued steep decline. In 2024, ITOPF recorded 10 tanker spills of more than seven tonnes, which matches 2023’s total.
The message is that the “easy wins” may already be behind us and the next phase is about sustaining performance and preventing the rare but potentially catastrophic events.
Learn More on the Voronoi App
Check out our related chart: Visualizing Global Oil Trade Flows in 2024 to explore how oil moves through the global system and how spill incidents fit within that larger trade dynamic.
