Spills · grounding
On march 16, 1978, the amoco cadiz ran aground on portsall rocks, three miles off the coast of brittany due…
Amoco Cadiz; Brittany, France · Brittany, France · NOAAORR-6241
- issued
- 1978-03-16 00:00Z
- status
- cancelled 1978-03-30 00:00Z
- self-cancels
- 1978-03-30 00:00Z
- authority
- NOAA OR&R
- sea
- Celtic Sea
- position
- 48.583, -4.717
- source
- incidentnews · first seen 2026-09-03 15:09Z
Original warning text
Amoco Cadiz; Brittany, France. Brittany, France. 1. On March 16, 1978, the Amoco Cadiz ran aground on Portsall Rocks, three miles off the coast of Brittany due to failure of the steering mechanism. The vessel had been en route from the Arabian Gulf to Le Havre, France when it encountered stormy weather which contributed to the grounding. The entire cargo of 1,619,048 barrels, spilled into the sea. A slick 18 miles wide and 80 miles long polluted approximately 200 miles of Brittany coastline. Beaches of 76 different Breton communities were oiled. The isolated location of the grounding and rough seas restricted cleanup efforts for the two weeks following the incident. Severe weather resulted in the complete break up of the ship before any oil could be pumped out of the wreck. As mandated in the "Polmar Plan", the French Navy was responsible for all offshore operations while the Civil Safety Service was responsible for shore cleanup [...] 2. THREAT: OIL. COMMODITY: ARABIAN LIGHT CRUDE, IRANIAN LIGHT CRUDE, BUNKER C. MAXIMUM POTENTIAL RELEASE: 68000017 GALLONS. TAGS: GROUNDING. 3. POSITION 48.583N 004.717W. NOAA INCIDENTNEWS 6241: https://incidentnews.noaa.gov/incident/6241
This area · spills & pollution incidents
8 within 180 nm since 1967 · 0 in the last 12 months · 0 in force now
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- Salvage and pollution response operations in progress until further notice in vicinity 50-19.60N 004-14.70W2022-11-29
- Salvage and pollution response operations in progress until 16 nov by M/V willchallenge in vicinity…2022-11-13
- Dangerous wreck in 49-52.3N 002-23.8W marked by north cardinal pillar light buoy with RACON 49-53.5N…2000-11-04
- Dangerous wreck reported in 49-52.2N 002-24.0W2000-11-01
- On march 7, 1980, the tanker tanio, carrying 190,580 barrels of no1980-03-07
- Isle of wight, england1970-10-23
Season · when spills & pollution incidents happen here
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month of issue, all years in the archive
Nearby now · within 120 nm
- Fowey light 50-19.60N 004-38.90W unreliableNav aids · 104.7 nm
- Fowey light 50-19.6N 004-38.9W unreliableNav aids · 104.7 nm
- Saint ives northwestwardsOther · 114 nm
Worldwide now
8 spills & pollution incidents in force · see all
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. All current spills & pollution incidents →
Not for navigation. This is a re-rendering of an official navigational warning for awareness; mariners must use official NAVAREA broadcasts and their national MSI service.