Black Waters: The Sea Empress Disaster

In February 1996, the Liberian oil tanker Sea Empress ran aground at the entrance to Milford Haven, one of the busiest ports in the UK. Over the following week, more than 70,000 tonnes of oil spread across the coastline of Pembrokeshire, blackening beaches, poisoning wildlife and transforming a thriving tourist region into the centre of an environmental emergency.

This documentary tells the story of how a community and a coastline were devastated by the spill and how they both recovered. At sea, an unprecedented £60 million salvage operation battles storms, shifting tides and failing technology in a desperate attempt to stabilise the vessel and stop the leak. On land, communities mobilise almost overnight, with ordinary people working around the clock to clean contaminated beaches, rescue oil-soaked birds and protect a coastline that defines both their livelihoods and identity.

Using first-hand testimony, news archives and immersive CGI reconstruction, the film reveals how new problems emerged each day, and how decisions made under extreme pressure would shape the course of the disaster.