While the dangers associated with shipping of oil through
rail and
pipe has received a lot of press of late, oil tankers are responsible for some of the largest oil spills in history. Here is a review of three of the most destructive tanker spills. Quantities are measured in tonnes of crude oil with one tonne being roughly equal to 308 US gallons, or 7.33 barrels, or 1165 liters.
1. Odyssey, was an oil tanker that spilled its load of crude oil 700 nmi (1,300 km; 810 mi) off Nova Scotia, Canada on November 10th, 1988. In total it spilled an estimated 132,157 tonnes of oil into the ocean. An explosion caused it to sink and the resulting spill remains one of the largest oil spills in world history.
