Just 474 out of more than 90,000 oil slicks from ships around the world were reported to authorities over a five-year period, it can be revealed, and barely any resulted in any punishment or sanctions.

The figure, obtained from Lloyd’s List by the Guardian and Watershed Investigations, shows the pollution incidents reported between 2014 and 2019, compared against a scientific study using satellite imagery that counted the number of slicks from ships over the same period.

Furthermore, all oil slicks from ships visible by satellites are illegal because they exceed pollution limits by at least three orders of magnitude, new research by Florida State University has found. Many of the slicks