Sea Empress Spill: Three Decades On, Wales Reassesses Its Seas

In February 1996 the Sea Empress ran aground near Milford Haven, spilling about 70,000 tonnes of crude oil and fouling roughly 200 km of Welsh coastline, killing thousands of seabirds and crippling fishing for months; the disaster prompted major safety reforms in UK ports, the adoption of double-hull tankers and enhanced response plans, and a lasting shift in public attitudes toward the environment, with climate change now raising the risk of future spills.