Oil spill / pollution
Oil or chemicals in the water, and the response vessels working to contain them.
Spill warnings ask ships to keep clear of the slick and of the vessels and booms working on it, and sometimes to report sightings. They appear after collisions, groundings and sinkings, and after releases from offshore installations.
The warning shows the response area at the time it was written. It does not measure the size of the spill or its effect on the coast; seahazards links NOAA IncidentNews records where the U.S. response is documented.
What the archive shows
1,499 messages in this archive use “Oil spill / pollution”, the earliest issued 1968-03-07 and the latest 2026-09-19. 2 of them are in force in the latest lists we collected. A hazard reported again and again counts once per message.
The largest yearly count is 2025, with 62 messages. Collection is incomplete between 2024-05 and 2026-08-17, so 2024, 2025 and 2026 are not comparable with fully collected years.
Spills accounts for 1,490 of 1,499 recorded messages (99%), the largest warning type group in this selection.
Located messages that use it fall in 40 sea areas; the most frequent are Gulf of Mexico (549), North Atlantic Ocean (397) and North Pacific Ocean (223).
Its use is spread fairly evenly through the year: the busiest month, August, has 153 messages and the quietest, April, 110.
By warning series: NOAAORR 1,422, HYDROPAC 26, NAVAREA IV 26 and HYDROLANT 22, and 2 more.
Messages using it, by year of issue
By month of issue, all years
Where it appears · 40 sea areas
In force now · 2
- NOAAORR-11219 · Spills · North Atlantic Ocean2026-09-16 · in force
…(SSC) regarding a commercial fishing vessel fire south of Nantucket, Massachusetts. No pollution was reported at the time but the USCG was requesting potential trajectory information…
On the morning of september 16, 2026, U.S → - NAVAREA IV 1524/24 · Spills · Caribbean Sea2024-12-04 · in force
…TO BE AVOIDED (ATBA) AND PARTICULARLY SENSITIVE SEA AREA (PSSA). 2. TO AVOID THE RISK OF POLLUTION AND DAMAGE TO THE ENVIRONMENT, ENTRY IS PROHIBITED FOR VESSELS OF 300 GROSS TONS AND…
Kitts and nevis →
How it reads in recent messages
- HYDROPAC 2723/26 · Spills · Mozambique Channel2026-09-19
MOZAMBIQUE CHANNEL. OIL SPILLAGE REPORTED 191045Z IN 18-44.91S 040-32.81E. VESSELS REQUESTED TO KEEP A SHARP LOOKOUT.
Oil spillage reported 191045Z in 18-44.91S 040-32.81E → - NAVAREA 7 266/26 · Spills · Mozambique Channel2026-09-19
…: (19 SEP 26) 1. INDIAN OCEAN - SW SECTOR - MOZAMBIQUE CHANNEL 2. CHARTS SAN 1, 3 3. OIL SPILLAGE REPORTED AT THE FOLLOWING POSITION 4. 18 - 44.91 S 040 - 32.81 E 5. VESSELS TO KEEP…
NAVAREA VII 266 of 2026 : (19 sep 26) 1. indian ocean - sw sector - mozambique channel 2. charts san 1, 3 3.… → - NOAAORR-11217 · Spills · Gulf of Mexico2026-09-08
…of the shoreline. At this time, it is unknown if Creole Operating is responding to this spill. NOAA's Emergency Response Division is assisting with weather forecasts and trajectory…
Cameron, la, USA → - NOAAORR-11215 · Spills · North Pacific Ocean2026-09-07
Asphalt Spill into Trapper Slough; Stockton, California. WG3M+9M Stockton, CA, USA. 1. On September 7,…
WG3M+9M stockton, ca, USA → - NOAAORR-11212 · Spills · North Pacific Ocean2026-08-30
…mile of two sensitive sites listed in the Area Contingency Plan (3-305 and 3-310). An oil spill response organization (OSRO) is enroute to float and remove the vessel. The USCG has…
1900 CA-1, moss landing, ca 95039, USA → - NOAAORR-11211 · Spills · Gulf of Mexico2026-08-26
Crude Oil Spill and In-Situ Burn at TPIC; South Pass 24, Pilottown, Louisiana. Pilottown, LA, USA. 1. On…
Crude oil spill and in-situ burn at tpic; south pass 24, pilottown, louisiana → - NOAAORR-11210 · Spills · Gulf of Mexico2026-08-25
…has since generated multiple reports to the National Response Center, as well as Marine Pollution Surveillance Reports (MPSRs) from the Satellite Analysis Branch of NESDIS (National…
Intermittent oil sheen; flower garden banks national marine sanctuary, bright bank →
Earliest in the archive
- NOAAORR-6203 · Spills · North Atlantic Ocean1968-03-07
…crude oil. The hull was severely damaged during the grounding causing the vessel to spill approximately 37,000 barrels of oil into the Atlantic Ocean at a location one and…
Eleuthera island, bahamas →
Often in the same message
Related terms
- Dangerous wreck
- A sunken vessel close enough to the surface to endanger ships, or wreckage reported in the water.
- Safety zone / exclusion zone
- An area ships must stay out of, or may only enter with permission, for safety or security.
- Tow / towing
- A vessel towing another vessel, a barge or a structure — slow, hard to manoeuvre, and with a long line between.
Warning types that use it
- Spills — Oil and chemical spills, groundings and vessel casualties with a pollution threat: NOAA IncidentNews responses since 1957, and spill-response areas broadcast as navigational warnings.
Counts cover the messages in this archive that use the term, recounted 2026-09-24; see coverage for what is collected and since when. Not for navigation — follow official NAVAREA and coastal broadcasts.