Red eyes and black beaches: How one of the worst environmental disasters left its mark
When the oil tanker Sea Empress ran aground 30 years ago, some of south Wales' most renowned beaches were coated in black oil.
Thousands of seabirds perished along a globally significant stretch of coastline in Pembrokeshire, while salvage teams labored for nearly a week to free the stranded tanker from the rocks and tow her to safety.
Described as "a wake up call" that transformed public attitudes toward environmental protection, the disaster still provokes anger and debate over how it occurred.
Experts caution that climate change increases the likelihood of major pollution incidents in increasingly busy and hazardous seas.
"It's all coming back to me 30 years later,"said retired BBC reporter Hefin Wyn, gazing out to sea at St Anne's Head, a remote location at the entrance to Milford Haven waterway, one of the UK's busiest ports.
He recalled "the humming of the tanker" amid lashing wind and rain, followed by the "heart-breaking" sight of "thick, treacle-like oil" on the water.
"One could see the birds landing [on the water]… but they couldn't fly away,"he said.
"It was a wake-up call - by now we are far more aware of the need to look after the environment than we were at the time."
"It was the single worst incident I've ever seen,"said conservationist and TV presenter Iolo Williams, who was working for the RSPB in Wales at the time.
"The oil got into [the pores of] your skin, it got into your hair... and everybody went around with these bright red eyes,"he told a new BBC documentary marking the 30th anniversary.
Approximately 7,000 oil-covered birds were collected along the coast, but
"the amount killed would have been at least double that because a lot of them would have sunk offshore,"he added.
Marine life in rockpools, including starfish and limpets, was smothered, and Pembrokeshire's fishing industry was halted for over 18 months.
The disaster occurred within the UK's only coastal national park, home to 35 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), a marine nature reserve, and islands hosting internationally important seabird populations.
What happened when the Sea Empress ran aground?
The 274m (900ft) long, Liberian-registered tanker Sea Empress was en route to an oil refinery when it struck rocks at the entrance to Milford Haven waterway at 20:07 on 15 February 1996.
Initial efforts focused on bringing another vessel alongside to offload the Sea Empress' crude oil cargo.
However, gale-force winds forced the crew and tugboats to evacuate, leaving the ship to endure the storm for several hours.
Eyewitnesses described the tanker "swinging around like a compass" as waves crashed over the abandoned vessel and black plumes of oil spewed into the sea.
Repeated attempts were made in the following days to refloat the ship.
It was finally towed to a jetty on 21 February, concluding six days of dramatic events that captured global headlines.
More than 70,000 tonnes—equivalent to 32 Olympic-sized swimming pools—of oil spilled into the sea, affecting an estimated 200km (124 miles) of coastline.
"It was such a shock to the local community,"said Gordon James, then director of Friends of the Earth in Wales.
"I remember going down to Tenby and seeing the beautiful North Beach covered in black and there were people there in tears.
"We set up a legal team and we interviewed a lot of people... and the evidence was damning.
"The tugboat men and the marine pilots, they'd issued warnings that safety was being compromised [at the port], there were cutbacks and they were saying more or less it's a disaster waiting to happen."
An inexperienced pilot had been assigned to guide the tanker into Milford Haven, and it was later revealed that the port's radar had not been functioning properly for months.
Milford Haven Port Authority was eventually fined £4 million, the largest pollution penalty in Britain at that time.
The fine was later reduced on appeal to £750,000 to allow the port to implement safety improvements.
James remains frustrated by perceived errors during the incident response.
He insists the tanker should not have been held in position before the weather deteriorated.
Local pilots and tugboat crews had offered to move the vessel further out to sea or to a jetty for offloading, but their advice was ignored, he claimed.
"The storm came in and they lost control."
'Risk of explosion'
Joe Small, senior operations manager for the UK's Marine Pollution Control Unit and one of the first to board the Sea Empress after it ran aground, offered a different perspective.
Upon inspection, it became clear that oil had migrated internally into tanks not designed to contain it, creating
"a huge safety issue" and "risk of explosion."
This limited available options, as ensuring the ship's safety before moving it into a populated area like Milford Haven was paramount.
The salvage operation was
"a huge technical challenge"and completing it within a week was considered
"pretty good going,"he said.
Tom Sawyer, chief executive of the Port of Milford Haven, described the Sea Empress disaster as
"a defining moment,"exposing industry shortcomings and causing significant harm to a cherished coastline.
The port has since enhanced pilot training and invested in
"world-leading navigational technology,"he stated.
The disaster prompted major reforms in the UK's maritime incident preparedness and response, while the global shipping industry accelerated adoption of double-hull tankers, mandatory emergency towing points, and improved environmental damage compensation frameworks.
Could a major oil spill happen again?
"We're constantly looking for ways to improve, better prepare and make things safer,"said Joe Small.
He warned that climate change-driven fiercer and more frequent storms, along with busier and more hazardous seas, pose significant challenges.
The decline of UK oil refining capacity has increased reliance on imports of refined products like petrol, transported by smaller tankers.
"We're now having four or five vessels to carry the same volume [as the Sea Empress],"he explained.
"More ships, worse weather - no matter how safe our operations are, things go wrong."
Globally, tankers face renewed threats from piracy and other attacks, while "dark fleets"—vessels involved in sanction-busting activities—add further complications.
'The real price of oil'
The Sea Empress disaster could have been far worse.
The timing meant many key migratory birds had not yet returned to Pembrokeshire's cliffs and islands, and wind direction carried some oil away from the coast.
A massive community cleanup effort was widely regarded as a success, enabling the county to recover more quickly than anticipated.
First Minister Eluned Morgan, then a European Parliament member for mid and west Wales, revealed she still owns a pair of wellington boots
"with Sea Empress oil on them"after assisting in cleanup efforts.
She said the incident underscored
"how important it is that we treat our seas with respect."
Nick Ainger, the area's MP at the time, noted that the disaster changed public attitudes.
"Those images they saw - that's the real price of oil. And I think it was the beginning of this substantial change in public attitude towards the environment: how precious it was, and how easily it can be damaged if we're not sensible and caring about it."
"I think about it at every anniversary,"added Iolo Williams.
"Thirty years on it's important to tell the story so we learn from our mistakes."
