9. MT Haven
A very large crude carrier, MT Haven, carrying about 144,000 tons of crude oil, exploded off the coast of Genoa, Italy in 1991. The tanker was unloading its 230,000 tonnes of cargo to the Multedo floating platform at the time of the accident.
The explosion occurred when MT Haven was detached to allow the oil to be pumped into a central hold of the vessel from two side-holds after the transfer of 80,000 tonnes.
Immediately after the explosion, the vessel sunk, killing six people on board. In addition, 45 million gallons of oil was discharged into the Mediterranean waters and the impact of the oil spill was also seen for as many as 12 years that followed.