The Liberian tanker Argo Merchant went aground on Nantucket Shoals, 29 nautical miles southeast of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts in high winds and 10-foot seas.

Image credit: NOAA

The M/V New Carissa was a freighter that ran aground on a beach near Coos Bay, Oregon during a storm and broke apart.

Image Credit: USCG

This spill occurred in the Gulf of Mexico about 10 miles off the coast of Louisiana. It resulted from the destruction of Taylor Energy’s MC20 oil production platform during Hurricane Ivan in 2004. Continuing for nearly two decades, it has become the longest-running oil spill in U.S. history.

Image Credit: NOAA, Jim Jeansonne

While preparing to dock at a refinery outside Philadelphia, the single-hulled tanker Athos I unknowingly struck a large anchor submerged in the Delaware River. The impact punctured the tanker's hull, and it began leaking more than 263,000 gallons of heavy oil into the tidal waters of this busy East Coast shipping route.

Image Credit: NOAA/Ed Levine

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita made landfall less than a month apart: Katrina striking near the Louisiana-Mississippi border, and Rita slamming into the Louisiana-Texas border. The storms created catastrophic damage along the Gulf Coast.

Image credit: USCG

The Cougar Ace, a container ship transporting over 4,800 automobiles from Japan to Vancouver, Canada, began to take on water southwest of Atka, Alaska. It listed to its port side and began leaking oil.

The container ship Cosco Busan struck the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, California in heavy fog, resulting in a 100-foot gash in the hull of the vessel and release of 53,000 gallons of diesel into San Francisco Bay. 

The chemical tanker Tintomara collided with barge DM932 on the Mississippi River near downtown New Orleans. The Tintomara suffered minor damage, but the DM932 barge split into two sections, spilling 283,000 gallons of fuel oil.

Image credit: USCG

Two hurricanes, Gustav and Ike, struck within a two week period, having serious impacts in Gulf Coast states.

Image credit: LDEQ

A 20-inch diameter line, which carried Eugene Island grade crude to shore, lost pressure and released oil about 60 miles southwest of Houma, Louisiana, in waters about 60 feet deep.

Image Credit: USFWS

Diesel fuel spilled from an underground tank at the Adak Petroleum Bulk Fuel facility on Adak Island in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. The fuel entered Helmet Creek, a salmon creek that flows into the small boat harbor in the Port of Adak.

Image Credit: NOAA/John Whitney

An explosion on the Deepwater Horizon Macondo oil well drilling platform tragically killed 11 workers, and started the largest marine oil spill in U.S. history, releasing millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

Image Credit: USCG

The largest earthquake in Japanese history struck the northeast region of the island nation, creating a tsunami that hit Japan and radiated out into the Pacific.

Image Credit: USCG

The 202-foot M/V Jireh ran aground on Mona Island, a small, uninhabited island 41 miles west of Puerto Rico, crushing and toppling corals as it plowed into the reef.

Image Credit: USCG

After Hurricane Isaac's initial landfall, the U.S. Coast Guard received reports of 158 oil spills and 171 objects possibly containing hazardous materials (such as propane tanks and drums with unknown contents) in affected areas of Louisiana.

Image Credit: USCG

Hurricane Ida made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane, leaving behind a path of destruction and leaving over a million people without power along the Louisiana coastline. 

Image credit: Louisiana Governor's Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness/Jim Richard

An oil pipeline off the coast of Southern California ruptured, oiling shorelines in the Huntington Beach and Newport Beach areas, affecting local wildlife, and forcing beach and fishing closures.

Image Credit: USCG/PO3, Janessa Warschkow

A significant oil spill occurred at the offshore mooring for the La Pampilla crude oil refinery in Lima, Peru. The spill oiled more than 35 miles of shoreline, created a serious health risk at more than 24 beaches, and impacted five marine protected areas.

Image Credit: NOAA/Brandi Todd

The tug vessel Western Mariner was towing a freight vessel, headed south in Neva Straight outside of Sitka, when a steering failure onboard the tug caused the barge to collide with it. The collision pushed the tug onto the beach, resulting in the release of diesel.

Image Credit: Alaska Department of Fish and Game

The 58-foot fishing vessel Aleutian Isle sank off San Juan Island in Washington State, with an estimated 2,500 gallons of diesel on board and 100 gallons of engine oil and hydraulic oil. It was recovered from over 250 feet of water on September 17 after weeks of complex dive operations.

Image Credit: USCG

The second major hurricane of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, Hurricane Ian was a devastating and powerful Category 4 hurricane that caused widespread damage across the southeast U.S., especially the states of Florida and South Carolina.

Image Credit: NOAA/William Whitmore