| Year | Ship name | Location | Spill size (tons) | Economic cost | Resulting regulation |
| 1967 | Torrey Canyon | Scilly Isles, UK | 119,000 | n/a |
1969 CLC
Convention 1971 FUND Convention |
| 1978 | Amoco Cadiz | Off the coast of France | 223,000 | US$ 282 million |
1981 and 1983 SOLAS
Amendments 1982 Paris MoU on Port State Control |
| 1989 | Exxon Valdez | Prince William Sound, USA | 37,000 | US$ 9.5 billion |
1990 Oil Pollution Act in the
US 1992 MARPOL Amendment |
| 1999 | Erika | Off the coast of France | 20,000 | US$ 180 million | 2001 MARPOL Amendment |
| 2002 | Prestige | Off the coast of Spain | 63,000 | 778 million Euro |
2003 EU Regulation
1726/2003 2003 MARPOL Amendment 2005 EU Third Maritime Safety Package |
| Abbreviations: CLC = International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage; FUND = International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage; MARPOL = International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution From Ships (MARPOL is abbreviation for Marine Pollution); MoU = Memorandum of Understanding; SOLAS = International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS is abbreviation for Safety of Life at Sea); Sources: Adapted from Bijwaard and Knapp (2009) and Knapp and Franses (2009). | |||||