Annual Quantity of Oil Spilled 1970-2007

Gee whiz! The data spiked incredibly in 1989-1991! The Exxon Valdez must have been carrying a "boatload" of oil. ={) But, after the spill was finally cleaned up, the numbers have decreased. This is all things that are good for everyone!

Yeah, the Valdez did spill a lot, but that year's total wasn't a crazy amount compared to previous years, and the total was also high in '88, before the Exxon Valdez wrecked. However, spills are declining overall as transportation methods get safer and more efficient and people get (arguably) less stupid. I think we need to go back to 2001, when only 8,000 tonnes were spilled. Any explanation for that exceptionally low year?

There must have been some massive spills in 1991 to have had 430,000 tonnes of spilled oil. Even the prestige oil incident in 2002 that spilled 2x as much oil as the exxon valdez had only totaled 67,000 tonnes for the year. Oil tankers back then must have had some major problems.