On December 3, 1992, the Greek-flagged oil tanker Aegean Sea coming from the North Sea and headed to the Repsol refinery in La Coruña, suffered an accident on the Galician coast.
The accident occurred when the Aegean Sea tried to enter the port in the middle of a strong storm. When there was 100 meters remained to reach the coast and on one kilometer far from inhabited areas, the ship ended up breaking in two, its tanks exploded and a dense column of smoke covered the area almost entirely.

The accident of the oil tanker on the coast of Galicia carrying Brent crude oil, served as the first test in Spain for the bacterial preparation Biopulcher Petroleolítico.
Of the 79,000 tons transported, it was estimated that almost 67,000 were dumped into the sea, extending unstoppable the pollutant spot in the Ártabro Gulf, worsened by the shortage of pollution barriers.