Abstract
The article presents the impact of major maritime accidents on the development of international regulations concerning the safety of navigation and environmental protection of the seas and oceans. It contains analysis of the reasons and consequences of maritime disasters like the accidents of: ‘Titanic’, ‘Torrey Canyon’, ‘Amoco Cadiz’, ‘Herald of Free Enterprise’, ‘Exxon Valdez’, ‘Estonia’, ‘Erika’ and ‘Prestige’ as well as international agreements established in order to prevent this type of accident in the future or, at least, limit their consequences.