Team 'immensely proud' of 1996 oil spill response

Thirty years on from one of the UK's worst environmental disasters, a key member of the rescue effort says he remains "immensely proud" of the response.

About 130,000 tonnes of crude oil spilled out of the Sea Empress tanker after it ran aground on 15 February 1996 near Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire.

The RSPCA launched a huge operation to save thousands of oiled and dying seabirds, with 1,300 taken to its West Hatch Wildlife Centre in Taunton, Somerset.

"It was a very distressing thing but also very uplifting watching the staff, as we had a common goal to get these birds through the rehab process and released again", said wildlife supervisor Paul Oaten.

"We got the call that this disaster had happened and the likelihood is there's going to be large numbers of birds affected", Oaten told BBC Radio Somerset.

About 90% of the rescued birds were common scoters, but teams also treated guillemots, divers, gulls and swans.

Oaten said there was a "stroke of luck" as its domestic centre was going through a rebuild, so the animals that were there had been moved elsewhere.

"We managed to use those to house birds and also some of the donations of towels and blankets that were coming in thick and fast," he said.

Oaten said staff worked 12 to 14 hour shifts to clean the birds.

"You'd come in at 8am and you'd stay to at least 10pm and you'd do that for 10 days on the trot and then you'd have a day to sleep and then you'd come back again and do it all over again," Oaten said.

Teams of two washed each bird using washing up liquid to remove oil from feathers and prevent birds ingesting it.

"It was so important to get the oil off, not just for the plumage but to stop it burning them."

Three decades on, he says the overwhelming feeling is pride.

"[We are] immensely proud of being involved with that and being able to do what we could to help the situation", he added.

"It is something that will hopefully never be repeated."

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