OIL-SOAKED pelicans, struggling to move under the weight of a thick, black sludge, have become among the most iconic symbols of the Gulf of Mexico oil leak catastrophe.

As up to 60,000 barrels of crude continues to spew into the sea every day, the devastating long-term impact of the Deepwater Horizon disaster remains immeasurable.

Two months after the rig exploded and sunk, claiming the lives of 11 workers, it has become the worst oil spill in United States’ history and almost halved the value of BP shares.

While the UK’s rigs are clustered in the North Sea, off Scotland, Hampshire’s waters and shoreline are among the most at risk of a spill.

Sitting on the banks of Southampton Water, the Fawley oil refinery operated by Esso – the world’s biggest company – handles 22 million tonnes of crude every year.

As the UK’s largest oil refinery, it refines some 300,000 barrels a day and supplies more than 15 per cent of all oil products used in the UK.

Across the water, in Hamble, BP’s oil terminal delivers fuel to petrol stations across the country equivalent to 100,000 car fill-ups a day.

The mammoth operations mean sailors, cargo ships and cruise liners share the Solent with giant sea tankers carrying thousands of tonnes of crude, petrol, diesel and jet fuel.

Esso and BP are both proud of their safety records, which show there has never been a major oil spill in Hampshire’s waters.

However, according to an influential environmental watchdog, the danger of an oil spill is a real one. The Solent Protection Society believes the greatest risk comes from a tanker grounding on the sea floor on its approach to Southampton.

Between 1989 and 2007 there were eight groundings. No oil was spilt in any of the incidents, but it’s a frightening scenario that the companies, as well as port bosses ABP and the local councils, are constantly preparing for.

A major spill could decimate the Solent’s wildlife, which includes wading birds, wildfowl, seals, oysters and fish. Further upstream, the county’s fragile rivers – the Hamble, Test and Itchen – would be at risk of contamination.

It would also have a huge impact on people living on the coast. As has been demonstrated in Louisiana, the state worst affected by the Gulf leak, those relying on tourism and fishing for their livelihoods would be the hardest hit.

“You can see from what is happening in Louisiana now that you have got dead seabirds, polluted fish and people that can’t fish or swim in the water. It’s a disaster and it would affect enormously tourism business in the Solent,” Tom Young, oil expert at the Solent Protection Society, said.

“Refined oil is the biggest threat, because it can take years to clean up. They had two smallish tankers run down in the Bay of Biscay about 15 years ago and it took years to get the oil off because it impregnates the beaches.”

Four years ago, the society successfully persuaded the two oil companies to use only double hull tankers to ship oil in and out.

The campaign, spearheaded by Mr Young, greatly reduced the risk of a spill as it added an extra layer of protection in case of hull damage.

The former shipbroker has also long called for all tankers to be banned from travelling through the Needles Channel in the western Solent. He claimed the lack of pilotage or vehicle tracking systems meant there was an “accident waiting to happen”.

“I’m sorry to be the prophet of doom, but there is no point in screaming and shouting about it after it has happened. Our responsibility is try to minimise it happening in the first place,” Mr Young said.

The most recent close call occurred in February last year when a vessel loaded with 35,000 tonnes of jet fuel crashed into two oil tankers after its pilot “lost control”.

A report by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch said the Vallermosa was on its way to the BP terminal when it collided with two vessels discharging their cargo at Fawley refinery.

Luckily crewmen aboard one of the tankers, the BW Orinoco, realised that a collision was imminent and stopped discharging just before the impact. But two of her four cargo hoses split and 600 litres of fuel spilled into Southampton Water.

It happened after the Vallermosa’s pilot was suddenly told to turn the ship around and head back to its anchorage in the Solent.

Lessons were learnt by both BP and ABP, who have since made changes to their procedures.

The incident is just one example of how things could go wrong, which explains why there are 12 different oil spill contingency plans for the Solent. According to SOLSPILL, ABP’s oil spill plan, the port bosses would be responsible for cleaning up a spill within harbour waters.

The firm has 100 metres of absorbent booms at the ready and a contract with oil spill experts Braemar Howells Limited to contain and clean up the slick. Esso and BP have anti-pollution boats on stand-by, as well as 5,000 litres of dispersants and booms stretching almost 2km.

“We are ready for it,” harbour master Captain Phil Holliday said. “I would like to say that the chances of an incident in Southampton Water are very, very slim, but we have ships carrying oil back and forth so there is a possibility.

“I’m very confident in the operations at Esso and BP, they both have excellent track records,” he added. “In Southampton we only get ships that have been through a rigorous vetting process, which means we don’t get the type of ships that have caused massive pollution in France or Spain.

“Finally, and most importantly, the systems we have in place are tried and tested. We have invested heavily in survey equipment and dredging, our professional pilots are well trained and we’ve got patrol launches that escort ships through the recreational craft.”

Dr Simon Boxall, from the National Oceanog raphy Centre, agrees that while there is a risk, Southampton would be well prepared to respond. “Is there a potential for a catastrophe in Southampton Water? Yes, there is always a danger, but it is very unlikely,” he said.

“If an accident happened anywhere it could not happen in a better place in terms of equipment being on site. Southampton houses the bulk of Europe’s oil spill defence equipment.”

According to the various action plans, Hampshire County Council would coordinate Southampton, Eastleigh and New Forest councils’ efforts to clean up the shoreline.

While the county council doesn’t have any equipment of its own, it has access to a stockpile of booms and dispersants kept by the Maritime Coastguard Agency, the government agency responsible for clean-ups at sea.

They’ve also signed a contract with Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL), the Southampton-based team of experts that is currently helping BP’s mammoth clean up mission in the Gulf.

Council bosses yesterday revealed they were set to publish an updated version of their Oil Spill Response Plan after a “live exercise”

to test it on October 28.

Councillor Ken Thornber, the county council leader, said: “We continually monitor post-incident and exercise reports to enable us to update our plans in the light of new lessons learned.

“Due to the scale of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill there are bound to be numerous new lessons to be learned from this event.

“Our emergency planners will meet with all bodies and agencies who will in due course be able and willing to pass on learning to enable us to improve our planning in this regard.”

BP and Esso were reluctant to discuss the threat of a local oil spill disaster. Esso failed to respond to questions from the Daily Echo.

In a statement, BP said: “The BP terminal started operations in 1924 and there have been no incidents of oil spills as far as we are aware from available records. BP has an emergency plan to deal with any incident. The plan is tested regularly and is approved by national and local regulatory authorities.”