When the Erika broke in two off the coast of Brittany on December 12, 1999, the crew was rescued by the Regional Rescue and Surveillance Operational Center (CROSS), and the Polmar Mer offshore emergency plan was triggered by the Atlantic Region Maritime Prefect to organize pollution control measures.

A crisis unit was immediately set up at Total to assist the authorities responsible for managing the consequences of the accident and to mobilise available expertise to help the parties concerned.

During the days and weeks that followed, the pollution caused by the sinking of the ship hit the length of the French Atlantic coastline.

Total created the Atlantic Coast Task Force to address the oil spill that started moving toward the French Atlantic coast in the days and weeks that followed. In practical terms, the task force focused mainly on providing assistance in areas where the Group's technical expertise makes it particularly efficient:

• the oil remaining in the Erika sunken vessel’s tanks was pumped out and recovered (June 1 to September 6, 2000)
• the coastline was cleaned and restored (January 2000 to June 2003)
• all waste was treated at the Donges refinery (2000 to 2004)

The action taken by the Atlantic Coast Task Force involved 800 people and a budget of €200 million, of which €72 million for the oil pumping operations and €72 million for waste treatment.