The International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF) has reported a new five-year low in oil spills from tankers, as the average for 2010-2014 falls to 1.8 large spills per year.

In 2014 the federation recorded one large oil spill (over 700 tonnes) of around 3,000 tonnes of bitumen in the South China sea, and four medium spills (over 7 tonnes) totalling seven spills over 7 tonnes.

"For the last two and a half decades the average number of incidents involving oil spills from tankers has progressively halved, with the current figures showing the lowest yet, at less than two per year," ITOPF stated in a press release.

"Interestingly, a number of tanker incidents reported in the media in 2014 involved fire and explosion, where potentially significant quantities of cargoes and bunker fuel burned. The cargoes involved included condensate, diesels and fuel oils."

The industry achieved a record of zero large spills in 2012, and despite a rise to three spills over 700 tonnes in 2013, the trend in spill numbers has continued to fall.