"New World Babylon"

Major Coastal Spills Since 2000

• Deepwater Horizon (Gulf of Mexico, 2010): The worst marine oil disaster in US history. An explosion on the offshore drilling platform spewed approximately 134 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf over 87 days, severely impacting ecosystems from deep-sea habitats to over 1,300 miles of shoreline. [1, 2]
• Hurricane Katrina & Rita Spills (Gulf Coast, 2005): Hurricane damage to coastal facilities and pipelines in Louisiana and the Gulf released more than 7 million gallons of oil into near-shore areas and the environment. [1]
• Amplify Energy Spill (Huntington Beach, California, 2021): A pipeline leak roughly 5 miles offshore spilled approximately 25,000 gallons of crude oil, coating local beaches and prompting widespread closures of the Orange County coastline. [1, 2, 3, 4]
• Refugio Oil Spill (Santa Barbara County, California, 2015): An onshore pipeline rupture spilled 142,800 gallons of crude oil, a large portion of which flowed into the Pacific Ocean, fouling one of the West Coast's most biodiverse coastlines. [1]
• Cosco Busan (San Francisco Bay, California, 2007): The container ship struck the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in heavy fog, puncturing a fuel tank and spilling over 53,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil into the bay, killing thousands of birds. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
• M/V Selendang Ayu (Aleutian Islands, Alaska, 2004): During a severe storm, the cargo ship ran aground, split in half, and spilled roughly 337,000 gallons of oil and diesel into the biologically sensitive Makushin and Skan bays. [1]
• The Athos I Spill (Delaware River, New Jersey, 2004): The tanker struck a submerged anchor while approaching a refinery, spilling approximately 265,000 gallons of crude oil that heavily coated the shorelines of New Jersey and Pennsylvania