The oil tanker Amoco Cadiz ran aground off the coast of Brittany, France, on March 16, 1978, causing a massive oil spill

The supertanker broke apart and released 220,000 tons of crude oil into the English Channel – at the time, the largest oil spill in history. The spill devastated marine life and polluted 200 miles of French coastline. The Amoco Cadiz disaster led to improved international maritime safety standards and greater emphasis on oil spill response and prevention, coming just a decade after a similar spill from the Torrey Canyon tanker in 1967 raised global awareness of environmental risks.