01 Sep 2026
Photo by Jan Ledermann On an island off the Finnish city of Kotka, less than 100km from the Russian border, workers have been drilling bolts into ancient coastal cliffs to create a permanent attachment system for oil containment booms — a defence against what officials describe as a “very high” risk of a major […]
18 Aug 2026
Photo by Gabe Fender Bathing has resumed on part of Blyth South Beach in Northumberland after a week-long precautionary advisory following reports of a possible fuel or oil spill, though the investigation into the source of the pollution continues. A strong-smelling substance found on the sand The Environment Agency logged a pollution incident on its water […]
02 Jun 2026
Photo by Jacob Fryer Standing in a harbourmaster’s office on the Danish island of Bornholm, Tom Nielsen surveys walls lined with sepia photographs of a busier era. “We used to have 55 boats at one time, and now we have one left,” he told BBC Future. “You could walk across the harbour from one fishing […]
07 Apr 2026
Photo by Daniel Olah Sweden has seized and subsequently released an oil tanker linked to Russia’s shadow fleet after it was suspected of causing a 12-kilometre oil slick in the Baltic Sea east of Gotland, in what authorities described as a landmark case in the campaign to hold sanctioned vessels to account. The incident began in […]
15 Jul 2025
Photo by Ian Taylor The Indian state of Kerala has initiated legal proceedings against the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), demanding $1.1 billion in compensation after the container vessel MSC Elsa 3 sank off the coast of Kochi in May 2025. The sinking resulted in the release of diesel fuel and hazardous cargo into the Arabian Sea, […]
24 Jun 2025
Image description: A person holding out their hands palms up, covered with a thick coating of black oil after an oil spill in the Niger delta. Image by Jerry Chidi / Climate Visuals. The UK High Court recently delivered a milestone judgement for environmental justice: Shell (and its former Nigerian subsidiary) can be held […]
03 Jun 2025
Image: Deep sea corals – Oleksandr Sushko Fifteen years after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, scientists are pioneering efforts to revive ancient coral ecosystems damaged by the spill. In a significant stride for marine conservation, U.S. scientists have embarked on an ambitious project to restore deep-sea coral habitats in the Gulf of Mexico, severely impacted […]
11 Mar 2025
An oil tanker and a cargo ship collided in the North Sea off the UK coast on Monday 10 March, triggering a major rescue mission. UK authorities launched lifeboats and firefighting vessels to the scene some 10 nautical miles out from the city of Hull after an alarm was sounded. “A coastguard rescue helicopter from […]
