The article examines a notable tendency toward initiating criminal proceedings and imposing severe penalties for oil spills on ship captains. The tendency takes its origins from the aftermath of 1989 disaster, where a tanker Exxon Valdez run aground and subsequently spilled some 100 000 tons of oil into the Prince William Sound, Alaska. The Exxon Valdez case involved not only civil liability for pollution damage, but also criminal charges. The ship’s captain has been sentenced in 1991. This tendency has been accepted in Europe and now it begins manifest itself on other continents as well. The author puts up arguments in defense of polluting ships' captains and crew.