accompanied by heavy contamination that resulted in shellfish being unsuitable for consumption.
Braer oil tanker, Shetlands, UK, 1993
The Liberian-registered tanker Braer ran aground at Garths Ness on the Shetland coast on 3 January 1993, resulting in a spill of 80 000 tonnes of crude oil. The cause of the accident was a complete power failure which left the tanker adrift, and eventually led it to run aground. Investigations of the extent of the damage are still under way, but it seems that the environmental impact is not as bad as had been expected immediately following the accident. Fortunately there were strong winds blowing offshore which helped disperse the oil slick. Numerous salmon farms have, however, experienced large losses and one month after the accident it was estimated that 2.5 million farmed salmon worth £35 million had been contaminated. The long-term environmental effects of the damage cannot yet be assessed.