A container ship of the Greek shipping company Costamare Inc. crashes into the Astrolabe Reef off the northern coast of Tauranga, causing New Zealand’s worst maritime environmental disaster.

A supertanker suffers an explosion while offloading oil near Genoa, Italy, triggering a huge oil spill; quick action by Italian authorities limits the extent of the disaster.

In January 1990, four oil spills occured in New York’s Arthur Kill and Kill Van Kull waterways, popularizing the heavily traversed channel.

On 3 June 1979 the Ixtoc I oil rig exploded in the Bay of Campeche in the Gulf of Mexico, and a continuous flow of oil released into the marine environment for nine months. Oil pollution reached coastlines and beaches, and damaged local shrimp populations.

During the Gulf War, Iraqi Military dumped oil from tankers and pipelines into the Persian Gulf to ward off United States military landings and operations.

On 15 February 1996, the oil tanker Sea Empress ran aground. Approximately 72,000 tons of crude oil spilled into the Milford Haven waters in Southern Wales, contaminating 200 kilometers of coastline. Swift implementation of environmental regulations, such as temporarily prohibiting mussel harvesting, successfully protected the coastal populations.