We like vehicles that burn liquid dinosaurs here at The Lego Car Blog. But there is a dark side to the Oil Age, and it goes beyond climate change and air quality. Because when the extraction or transportation of oil goes wrong, the consequences are horrific.

This is the Amoco Cadiz, a Liberian-flagged supertanker that was on its way to England in 1978 loaded with crude oil. In rough seas off the coast of France the rudder jammed, and despite concerted efforts to save it the doomed ship grounded on rocks near the village of Portsall.

Battered by the waves, the rocks tore through the hull, breaking the ship into three, and all 230,000 tons of oil leaked into the sea in what was at the time the largest ever spill.

Huge environmental damage was done, with Loic Gilbert recreating the tragedy magnificently in microscale in the diorama here.

Capturing the wrecked Amoco Cadiz, the village of Portsall, and the immense slick of oil covering the French coastline, Loic’s creation is a reminder of the damage mankind’s obsession with oil can do.

There’s more to see at Loic’s photostream and you can join the multi-million dollar clean-up via the link above.