History of oil spill response at NOAA

On December 15, 1976, the tanker Argo Merchant ran aground near Nantucket Shoals in Massachusetts and broke in half several days later. The entire 7.7 million gallons of heavy fuel oil it carried spilled into the Shoals, threatening damage to the famous fishing grounds. Over the days and weeks that followed, NOAA began its first major coordinated oil spill response activity.