Oil spillage in the sea
Oceans are polluted by oil on a daily basis from oil spills, routine
shipping, run-offs and dumping.
● Oil spills make up about 12% of the oil that enters the ocean.
The rest come from shipping travel, drains and dumping.
● An oil spill from a tanker is a severe problem because there is
such a huge quantity of oil being spilt into one place.
● Oil spills cause a very localised problem but can be
catastrophic to local marine wildlife such as fish, birds and sea
otters.
● Oil cannot dissolve in water and forms a thick sludge in the
water. This suffocates fish, gets caught in the feathers of
marine birds stopping them from flying and blocks light from
An image of the sea polluted by oil
Beatrice
photosynthetic aquatic plants.