Satellite Imaging Showed 90,000 Marine Oil Slicks From 2014 To 2019 - 0.5% Of Them Were Even Reported

Just 474 out of more than 90,000 oil slicks from ships around the world were reported to authorities over a five-year period, it can be revealed, and barely any resulted in any punishment or sanctions. The figure, obtained from Lloyd’s List by the Guardian and Watershed Investigations, shows the pollution incidents reported between 2014 and 2019, compared against a scientific study using satellite imagery that counted the number of slicks from ships over the same period.

Furthermore, all oil slicks from ships visible by satellites are illegal because they exceed pollution limits by at least three orders of magnitude, new research by Florida State University has found. Many of the slicks are the result of ships deliberately discharging bilge water containing oil in order to keep the vessels stable.

“The level of under-reporting of pollution is a huge unknown,” Dr Elizabeth Atwood from Plymouth Marine Laboratory said. “The argument that has historically been made is that there is an equal amount coming from natural seeps. But recent research keeps underlining that this is not true for much of the globe,” said Atwood.

Hugo Tagholm, the executive director of Oceana UK, said: “It is appalling to hear of the extreme levels of toxic pollution caused by these oil spills from shipping, as well as the frankly mind-bending under-reporting of the situation.”

EDIT

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jul/29/only-05-of-90000-oil-slicks-reported-over-five-year-period-analysis-finds