Available statistics on oil spills primarily focus on incidents occurring in marine or oceanic environments due to tanker accidents or similar maritime operations. Reliable data on other sources, such as offshore platforms, bunkering activities, and related industrial operations, are either lacking or not accessible to the public.

The scientific community has long recognized oil pollution in aquatic environments as a serious and persistent issue, a conclusion supported by decades of research. In contrast, public perception often frames the problem as an infrequent and distant event, disconnected from daily life, resulting in widespread indifference.

At present, no definitive method exists for completely removing oil from water, as such an outcome is physically unachievable. Furthermore, not all oil remains buoyant. Through the process of weathering, spilled oil is often left in the marine environment to degrade naturally over time or sink to the seabed. When volumes are too great for this passive approach, the oil is either incinerated in situ or treated with chemical dispersants (essentially solvent-based agents) which serve only to dilute the oil within the water column.

Responsibility for the remediation of environmental disasters is not borne solely by those directly responsible for the spill; it also falls, in part, upon the governments of the affected regions, which must address both immediate and long-term consequences.