Over the first few days of the disaster, an estimated 73,000 tonnes out of the ship's 130,000-tonne cargo of
North Sea crude oil was spilt, most of which spread along either the shoreline of Milford Haven waterway or the coastline to the south. This caused an enormous amount of environmental and aesthetic damage to the coastline and its marine life in an area which lies within the protection of the
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.
Birds The most visible effect of the spill was seen in the large number of birds covered in oil that were shown on television and in newspapers. Amongst the birds affected were
guillemots,
razorbills and the worst affected bird, the
common scoter duck. 83% of the birds affected were common scoter birds, and it is estimated that 5,000 of the 15,000 population in the area were killed. The RSPB set up a temporary bird hospital in
Milford Haven to try to treat as many birds as possible. This centre is now a storage area but in the aftermath of the
Sea Empress disaster it became a hive of activity where many birds were showered and cleaned as best as possible. Unfortunately, the life expectancy of a cleaned Guillemot or Razorbill that was oiled once it was let back into the sea was a very short 9 days. Members of the public also helped rescue the birds. It took almost five years for the coastline to be fully cleaned up and restored by the Pembrokeshire Council,
Texaco workers and subcontractors, and wildlife conservationists. There was much speculation in the media at the time over the inherent lack of safety of single-hull tankers, particularly in view of the disaster in
Scotland just three years earlier;
Braer also being a single-hull vessel. ==Fate of the
Sea Empress==