Amoco Cadiz

The incident

On 16 March 1978, the Liberian oil tanker Amoco Cadiz, suffering a damaged hull and loaded with 223,000 tonnes of crude oil, ran aground near Portsall (Finistère). All of its cargo spilled, polluting 360 km of coastline from Brest to Saint Brieuc. This was the largest oil spill caused by an oil tanker wreck in history.

Spill Response

• First response: Pumping of the oil, manual collection, use of quicklime to neutralise the waste
• The winter storms completed cleaning naturally
• Waste management: 100,000 tonnes of “mousse” and soiled waste collected. Solid waste neutralised using quicklime
• Social: 7,000 volunteers and military personnel mobilised for cleaning operations

Impacts

• Environment: 19,000 to 37,000 birds dead, large scale destruction of coastal fauna and flora, 6,400 tonnes of oysters lost
• Economy: Fishing and oyster farming interrupted for weeks, impact on tourism for the season
• Only 5 % of oiled birds survived.
• Ecological impact: Implementation of long-term monitoring of the environmental consequences of this pollution after 5, then 10 years. it took 6 to 7 years for the ecosystems to recover

Legal proceedings

• 14 years of trial against Amoco in the United States of America
• Quantification of commercial and public image loss
• 1,257 million Francs in compensation obtained in 1992 (less than half of the initial claims)

Results

• Enhanced judicial and operational resources to allow the maritime prefect to operate more effectively at sea
• Reworking and reinforcement of the Polmar plan and stockpiles to better prepare for future pollutions.
• Implementation of a Traffic separation scheme off Ushant to put distance between oil tankers and the coast.
• Creation of CEDRE, expertise centre in accidental pollution.
• Creation of Ceppol
• Creation of the mixed syndicate (now Vigipol)

Legacy

• 30 years later, the residual ecological impacts are minor, but the incident remains a symbol of response against oil spills.
• The wreck became and artificial reef and a remembrance monument