Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Topic: Oil spills

A view from a seaside cliff of four kayakers paddling in the ocean with a rocky island in the background

NOAA’s National Ocean Service: Working for you!

March 5, 2025

Focus areas:

Topics:

coastal economies

A view from a seaside cliff of four kayakers paddling in the ocean with a rocky island in the background

M/V President Eisenhower

NOAA offices respond to container spills on both coasts

April 17, 2024

Focus areas:

Topics:

Earth science news

M/V President Eisenhower

U.S. Coast Guard drone pilot launches commercial drone in Santa Barbara, CA

Flying high for science: Uncrewed Aircraft Systems and oil spill response

January 19, 2024

Focus areas:

Topics:

U.S. Coast Guard drone pilot launches commercial drone in Santa Barbara, CA

National Marine Mammal Foundation veterinarian performs a dental exam on a dolphin.

Studying the health of dolphins after pollution

March 13, 2023

Focus areas:

Topics:

National Marine Mammal Foundation veterinarian performs a dental exam on a dolphin.

On July 23, 2008, the chemical tanker Tintomara collided with fuel barge DM932 on the Mississippi River, near New Orleans, Louisiana. Shown here is an aerial view of the resulting oil spill.

6 polluted waterways slated for restoration

January 5, 2023

Focus areas:

Topics:

response and restoration

coastal restoration

coastal communities

On July 23, 2008, the chemical tanker Tintomara collided with fuel barge DM932 on the Mississippi River, near New Orleans, Louisiana. Shown here is an aerial view of the resulting oil spill.

Photol of research vessel at the Taylor Energy oil spill site offshore of Louisiana pre-containment

Private, public effort contains 1 million gallons of oil at longest U.S. spill

July 12, 2022

Focus areas:

Topics:

Photol of research vessel at the Taylor Energy oil spill site offshore of Louisiana pre-containment

Dolphin breathing with a caretaker by her side.

Dolphins deep breathe on camera for oil spill science

March 30, 2022

Focus areas:

Topics:

Dolphin breathing with a caretaker by her side.

Workers hose off oil from a rocky shore in Alaska following the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Photo dated April 1989.

Marking 30 years of restoring waterways after pollution

March 1, 2021

Focus areas:

Topics:

coastal restoration

Workers hose off oil from a rocky shore in Alaska following the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Photo dated April 1989.

On March 24, 1989, the tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Within six hours of the grounding, the Exxon Valdez spilled approximately 10.9 million gallons (259,500 barrels) of its 53 million gallon cargo of Prudhoe Bay crude oil. The oil would eventually impact more than 1,100 miles of non-continuous coastline in Alaska, making the Exxon Valdez the largest oil spill in U.S. waters at the time.

Look back at 30 years of oil spill response

August 7, 2020

Focus areas:

Topics:

response and restoration

On March 24, 1989, the tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Within six hours of the grounding, the Exxon Valdez spilled approximately 10.9 million gallons (259,500 barrels) of its 53 million gallon cargo of Prudhoe Bay crude oil. The oil would eventually impact more than 1,100 miles of non-continuous coastline in Alaska, making the Exxon Valdez the largest oil spill in U.S. waters at the time.

Drone image of R/V Brooks McCall at MC20 site with rising oil and gas at the surface, September 2018, in the Gulf of Mexico. NOAA NCCOS scientists aboard the vessel surveyed the site (September 1–7, 2018) to determine the source, composition, and extent of the oil and gas discharge.

Flow rates for 14-year oil spill in Gulf of Mexico are published in new report

June 24, 2019

Focus areas:

Topics:

Drone image of R/V Brooks McCall at MC20 site with rising oil and gas at the surface, September 2018, in the Gulf of Mexico. NOAA NCCOS scientists aboard the vessel surveyed the site (September 1–7, 2018) to determine the source, composition, and extent of the oil and gas discharge.

Subscribe to oil spills