Following is a chronology of some previous major oil spills:

18 March, 1967 - UNITED KINGDOM - The Torrey Canyon ran aground off Cornwall spilling 80,000 tonnes (919,000 barrels) of crude.

20 March, 1970 - SWEDEN - At least 438,000 barrels of oil spilled in a collision involving the Othello in Tralhavet Bay.

19 December, 1972 - OMAN - After a collision with Brazilian tanker Horta Barbosa the South Korean tanker Sea Star spilled about 840,000 barrels of crude into the Gulf of Oman.

15 December, 1976 - USA - The Argo Merchant ran aground off Nantucket spilling 183,000 barrels of oil and causing a slick 160 km (100 miles) long and 97 km wide.

25 February, 1977 - The Liberian-registered Hawaiian Patriot caught fire in the Northern Pacific spilling 723,000 barrels.

16 March, 1978 - FRANCE - About 1.6 million barrels of crude spilled after the Amoco Cadiz ran aground near Portsall in France's worst ever tanker accident. The resulting slick eventually covered 125 miles of Breton coast.

19 Jully, 1979 - TRINIDAD & TOBAGO - About 2.2 million barrels of crude spilled after a collision off Tobago between the Atlantic Empress and the Aegean Captain.

6 August, 1983 - SOUTH AFRICA - Fire broke out on the Spanish tanker Castillo de Bellver and 1.8 million barrels of light crude burnt off the coast at Cape Town.

24 March, 1989 - USA - The Exxon Valdez hit rocks in Prince William Sound spilling some 240,000 barrels of crude oil onto Alaskan shores.

19 December, 1989 - MOROCCO - After explosions and a fire Iranian tanker Kharg-5 was abandoned spilling 70,000 tonnes of crude oil, endangering the coast and oyster beds at Oualidia.

7 February, 1990 - USA - The tanker, American Trader, leaked 300,000 gallons of crude from a gash in the hull causing an oil slick 22 km long polluting Bosa Chica, one of southern California's biggest nature preserves.

28 May, 1991 - ANGOLA/LIBERIA - A Liberian-registered supertanker, ABT Summer, leaked oil after an explosion off Angola causing an oil slick 17 nautical miles by three.

19 September, 1992 - INDONESIA - Liberian-registered tanker Nagasaki Spirit collided with container Ocean Blessing in the Malacca Straits spilling some 12,000 tonnes of crude.

3 December, 1992 - SPAIN - Greek tanker Aegean Sea ran aground and broke in two near La Coruna spilling most of its 80,000 tonne cargo of oil.

5 January, 1993 - UNITED KINGDOM - The tanker Braer hit rocks near the coast of the Shetland Islands shedding its cargo of 85,000 tonnes of crude in the worst oil wreck in British waters for 26 years.

6 March, 1994 - THAILAND - About 105,670 gallons of diesel fuel spilled into the sea four miles off the eastern Sriracha coast after oil tanker Visahakit 5 and a cargo ship collided.

31 March, 1994 - UAE - 15,900 tonnes of crude oil leaked into the Arabian Sea after the Panamanian-flagged Seki collided with the UAE tanker Baynunah 10 miles off the UAE port of Fujairah.

2 October, 1994 - PORTUGAL - Panamanian tanker, Cercal, spilled about 2,000 tonnes of crude into the sea after striking a rock near Leixoes harbour, in Oporto.

15 February, 1996 - UK - Liberian-registered Sea Empress hit rocks near Milford Haven, Wales, spilling 40,000 tonnes of oil.

2 January, 1997 - JAPAN - Russian tanker, the Nakhodka, containing some 19,000 tonnes of oil was torn in two in the Sea of Japan causing one of the worst oil spills in Japan's history.

13 December, 1999 - FRANCE - The stern of the Maltese tanker Erika sank off the northwest of France after splitting in two. It was carrying 25,000 tonnes of viscous fuel oil.