What happened

An accidental remote-control input disconnected a marine loading-arm coupling before it had been purged, violently releasing an estimated 250–300 kg of liquid propane during loading of the tanker MV Symi. A ship’s engineer suffered serious cold burns and a flammable vapor cloud enveloped the deck and jetty but did not ignite. Britain’s Health and Safety Executive later found Shell’s operating procedure and management of change inadequate.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.