Amoco Cadiz oil spill: On the morning of March 16, 1978, a very large crude carrier, loaded with 69 million gallons of crude oil, succumbed to the rough winds and waters of the English channel and ran aground on the rocky French coast. The hull and container tanks of the Amoco Cadiz were punctured in the impact, and the oil leaked into the water, polluting about 321 km of the French coast with an oil slick. It is estimated that millions of invertebrates, including molluscs and crustaceans, as well as around 20,000 birds, were killed in this environmental disaster. (Photo | AFP)