2009 Lüderitz oil spill

The 2009 Lüderitz oil spill began in April 2009 off the coast of Lüderitz, Namibia. It affected 156 African penguins, with many more possibly threatened. The oil spill is in the area where the fishing trawler Meob Bay sank in June 2002, killing 19 seamen. The boat sank after a rope got caught in the propeller, which then detached causing water to flood into the engine room. It is the largest spill in Namibian history according to local residents of Lüderitz.