[8] The origin of the oil spill, of a type not produced in Brazil, is still unconfirmed but a Greek-flagged ship, the NM Bouboulina, belonging to Delta Tankers Ltd is suspected.

[3] According to the Ministry of Defense, about 5,500 Navy, Army and Air Force personnel were involved with cleaning the beaches of the Northeast, as were staff from the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), and the National Secretariat of Protection and Civil Defense; additionally, thousands of volunteers worked at the beaches.

[14] On 21 October, a team of oceanographers, chemists, and state officials visited the Todos os Santos Bay in Salvador, Bahia, to assess the impact of the oil's movement along the coast.

At this point, the spill had left a toxic trail for thousands of miles and begun degrading mangroves and corals; this contamination is hard to clean and will remain in the environment for years.

[6] There is substantial risk for Brazil's mangroves, corals, and marine life as a whole, which will take decades to mitigate, and to humans, as the chemicals can also cause irritation and allergic reactions, especially on the skin, eyes, and mouth.

[19] The oil spill also hit some of the most frequented tourist beaches in the area, which received safety warnings from the tourism and fishing sectors by the end of October.

[20] Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro first reported Venezuela as the origin, then later asserted that environment campaigners caused the spill in order to stop the government signing more oil deals.