1967

On March 18, 1967, the tanker Torrey Canyon ran aground off the southwestern coast of England, spilling her entire cargo -- 36 million gallons of oil -- into the water. Over the next several weeks, oil from the spill fouled England's southern coast, as well as the Normandy coast of France. The severity of the catastrophe was a worldwide wake-up call and focused attention on the need for coordinated spill prevention and response systems. By studying the hard lessons learned in the Torrey Canyon spill, the tanker industry began making key improvements in:

• Vessel design
• Shipboard navigation systems
• Training of tanker personnel

In addition, the United States sent a delegation of experts from the public, private and academic sectors to study the Torrey Canyon cleanup operations and bring back information and recommendations to be used in developing U.S. oil spill response policy.