BfR-Wissenschaft 
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than 100,000 MT. As it was the main recreational beaches were cleaned in time for the East 
er holidays, just two months after the spill. 
Aside from the considerable increase in scale and complexity of clean-up operations that 
would have likely resulted from the greater severity of shoreline contamination, it is also con 
sidered likely that the impact on seabirds, coastal waders, intertidal invertebrates and ameni 
ty areas were significantly mitigated as a result of the decision to apply dispersants on such a 
large scale in this case. This is particularly pertinent as the adjoining coastline of Milford Ha 
ven is the only coastal National Park in the UK, and nearby islands are bird sanctuaries with 
internationally-significant populations of puffins, guillemots, gannets and Manx shearwaters. 
Parts of the region are designed as areas of special scientific interest and are also Special 
Protected Areas under the European Birds Directive. 
In order to assess the environmental damage caused by the spill the UK government ap 
pointed an independent committee, the Sea Empress Environmental Evaluation Committee 
(SEEEC), which brought together teams of experts and commissioned around 80 scientific 
studies on the effects of the incident. These studies included investigations into the environ 
mental impact of the use of dispersants during the response, and despite their widespread 
use in this case, it is reasonable to conclude that there were no discernible effects on the 
biodiversity of the marine environment in Haven estuary that could have been attributed to 
the use of dispersants. Fortunately, there were no reports of mortalities of commercially ex 
ploited crustaceans or fish as a result of the oil spill. Rather, to the contrary, the temporary 
ban on fishing during the period of elevated hydrocarbon concentrations in the water column 
resulted in an abundant harvest for commercial stocks over the following year. Studies of the 
seabed showed little impact resulting from the spill except for marked reductions in the 
abundance of some species of amphipod in areas to the north of the grounding site. Howev 
er, as these amphipods were situated within the Haven estuary, where dispersants were not 
used, it is considered most likely that they were affected by naturally dispersed oil, driven into 
the water column by the turbulent conditions within the entrance to the Haven. Recovery of 
the amphipod fauna was evident in all reaches of the Haven estuary some two years after 
the spill. 
Although a very large amount of oil was spilled in a particularly sensitive area as a result of 
the SEA EMPRESS incident, the impact was far less severe than many people had ex 
pected. This was due to a combination of factors: the time of year, the type of oil, weather 
conditions at the time of the spill, the clean-up response, the strategic use of dispersants, 
along with the natural resilience and recovery potential of many marine species. 
In ITOPF’s view, on the basis of its involvement in the response to this incident, both on site 
and post-spill, the effective mitigation of environmental and economic damages resulting 
from the SEA EMPRESS spill was due in no small part to the extensive application of disper 
sants, and in our opinion this highlights the benefits of the UK policy at that time to maintain 
large-scale aerial dispersant spraying capability. 
Case Study: NATUNA SEA (Singapore Strait 2000) 
When considering the different factors that can prevent the effective application of disper 
sants during an oil spill the NATUNA SEA incident in the Singapore Strait in 2000 is a very 
worthwhile case to reflect on. The response to this particular spill highlights the importance of 
considering oil type and amenability to dispersion when formulating a strategy. It also serves 
as a good example of the importance of having information on the oil properties and weather 
conditions at the time of an incident. 
The oil tanker NATUNA SEA (51,095 GT; built 1980) grounded in Indonesian waters in the 
Singapore Strait on 3 rd October 2000. At the time of the incident, the vessel was laden with