ABSTRACT This paper discusses marine oil spills: their types, the public's perception of their risk, dean-up options, and actions both before and after a spill to minimize their consequences. Lessons are derived from a number of actual spills. Actions are grouped in three categories: macro (international), meso (joint industry) and micro (single company). Special sections discuss the role and requirements for computer simulations, and evaluate the probable effectiveness of proposed legislation. The establishment of an equiped and specially trained team of spill clean-up workers who could be deployed worldwide is suggested as one means of alleviating spill consequences. Use of fault tree analysis is proposed as a means of evaluating the (potential) effectiveness of legal steps.