Just after 8 PM on February 15 1996, the Sea Empress ran aground on the rocks at mouth of the Cleddau estuary. With the hull breached, thousands of tons of oil began to spill into the water - just the beginning of an unprecedented environmental disaster for the area...
Iolo Williams, who was involved in the subsequent clean-up operation as part of his work with the RSPB, presents 'Sea Empress: 10 Years On', looking back at the disaster and aftermath, meets some of the people involved, and looks at how the area recovered.
"What happened at Milford Haven left me feeling bitter, angry and frustrated." says Iolo. "But in many ways, what's happened since has been so unexpected, it's almost miraculous. It's a story that didn't end when the media circus went away..."

More about the programme

Radio - 'The Wake of the Empress' highlights

Watch Video Clip 1: First reactions Iolo tells us about how he first heard about the Sea Empress running aground. Watch how the news broke at the time, and see what happened to the vessel - and it's cargo of crude oil - in those first hours. Play this section Video Clip 2: Dangerous Hours Margaret Hurt tuned into the breaking news on her TV, and quickly realised that her husband Gary's tug was one of the vessels floating close to the Empress as the night's drama played out. Weather conditions worsened and concerns were raised that the remaining oil could combust - immediately next to the tugs... Play this section Watch Clip 3: First Impacts As the oil continued to spread, dispersants were sprayed from the air, which was a cause of concern for some at the time. As the scale of the disaster became clear, it was evident that the fishing industry - a lynchpin the of the local economy - would be hit very hard. Local fisherman Dai Bray talks about how events unfolded for him. Play this section Watch Clip 4: Bird Rescue The oil had reached shore and was proving a major threat to waders and wildfowl, along with sea life above and below the waterline. As the fishing boats were out of action, Dai and many other locals got involved in the clean-up and rescue of those birds they could find that were still alive. Play this section Watch Clip 5: With a lot of effort - and luck... Iolo visits the centre where so many of the oiled birds were brought, and we look back at the delicate work that took place cleaning the birds and releasing them back into the wild. Iolo talks to Ian Bulloch, who talks about how the timing of the spill prevented the environmental disaster from being much worse. Was the wildlife of the area actually lucky? Play this section Watch Clip 6: An Army on the beach Many people from the area will remember the thick slicks of emulsified oil on the beaches at resorts such as Tenby. As the wind changed and the oil travelled around the headland to Carmarthen Bay, many local people got involved with cleaning up these beaches further east. Iolo talks to Karl Evans who reflects on the intense work done to make sure the tourists could return to places like Tenby as soon as was possible... Play this section Watch Clip 7: Small miracles Many species were in real danger on some of the area's less well-known beaches. And yet, years on, it appears that through the intense efforts at the time and nature's own processes, you could almost never tell that such a disaster had ever occurred. Iolo talks to coastal marine life expert Robin Crump, as they explore the rockpools of Angle Bay and reflect on some minor miracles that took place... Play this section Watch Clip 8: Restoring the ecology Robin talks about the ecology of the area, and how nature finds its own ways of restoring balance following such incidents. Play this section Watch Clip 9: Did it matter? Who is to blame? (and whatever happened to the Empress)? Did it matter? Iolo takes up the point: "Did it matter? Yes, it did matter. But not in the way I thought it did a decade ago. Back then, I felt bitter, frustrated and angry. And to put it bluntly, I wanted someone to blame... Who on Earth had allowed a huge tanker right into the heart of Britain's only Coastal National Park? Who was responsible?" "As much as anybody's, it was my fault," admits Iolo. "I travel about 25,000 miles a year in my car, I travel all over the world. I use as much fuel as anyone else, so ultimately it was my fault. Yes, you can point fingers, but you have to look at the bigger picture. We are all responsible." Are our ports and ships any safer? Safety at our ports and harbours has improved - large tankers have to be escorted into port by tugs, and pilots must undergo rigorous training. But, single-hulled tankers still sail into the estuary, and soon massive new ships carrying Liquified Natural Gas will be heading into the Haven. Iolo says: "You can't help but feel that it's Milford Haven that's sailing into unchartered waters." However, a catastrophic spill could happen again because of a poor planning for coastal emergencies, some environmental groups warned in February 2006. Read more of what they had to say on BBC News Online. So while one of the legacies of the Sea Empress disaster is safer ports and harbours, some say another disaster like the Empress is inevitable; although the truth is, of course, that we just don't know... Watch final section

'Sea Empress: 10 Years On', a BBC Wales TV production
Produced and directed by John Trefor.