| Ship Name | Year | Location | Spill Size (Tons) |
| Atlantic Empress | 1979 | Off Tobago, West Indies | 287,000 |
| ABT Summer | 1991 | 700 nautical miles off Angola | 260,000 |
| Castillo de Bellver | 1983 | Off Saldanha Bay, South Africa | 252,000 |
| Amoco Cadiz | 1978 | Off Brittany, France | 223,000 |
| Haven | 1991 | Genoa, Italy | 144,000 |
| Odyssey | 1988 | 700 nautical miles off Nova Scotia, Canada | 132,000 |
| Torrey Canyon | 1967 | Scilly Isles, UK | 119,000 |
| Sea Star | 1972 | Gulf of Oman | 115,000 |
| Irenes Serenade | 1980 | Navarino Bay, Greece | 100,000 |
| Urquiola | 1976 | La Coruna, Spain | 100,000 |
| Hawaiian Patriot | 1977 | 300 nautical miles off Honolulu | 95,000 |
| Independenta | 1979 | Bosphorus, Turkey | 95,000 |
| Jakob Maersk | 1975 | Oporto, Portugal | 88,000 |
| Braer | 1993 | Shetland Islands, UK | 85,000 |
| Khark 5 | 1989 | 120 nautical miles off the Atlantic coast of Morocco | 80,000 |
| Aegean Sea | 1992 | La Coruna, Spain | 74,000 |
| Sea Empress | 1996 | Milford Haven, UK | 72,000 |
| Katina P | 1992 | Off Maputo, Mozambique | 72,000 |
| Nova | 1985 | Off Kharg Island, Gulf of Iran | 70,000 |
| Prestige | 2002 | Off Galicia, Spain | 63,000 |
| Exxon Valdez | 1989 | Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA | 37,000 |
Source: The International Tankers Owners Pollution Federation.
The size of an oil spill is an indication of its potential environmental impact. Yet, the two most damaging oil spills were not the largest, but they took place near ecologically rich areas, particularly in terms of fishing. The Amoco Cadiz was carrying 223,000 tons of oil when it sank in Portsall Bay, France, on March 17, 1978. Some 400 km of Breton coastlines were affected. Following the incident, not only was the ecological equilibrium greatly disturbed, but the local economy based on fishing was also completely paralyzed. On March 24, 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez hit a reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska, thereby spilling 37,000 tons out of oil of its 180,000 tons load, a spill that affected 1,700 km of coastlines. Even if, compared to other major spills, it was of lower volume, it still carries today the title of the largest animal death toll. The Prestige and Sea Empress oil spills that occurred off the European Atlantic generated a significant amount of pollution that destroyed aquatic species, including algae, mollusks, crustaceans, marine mammals, fish, and invertebrates.