The spill of 3.5 million gallons of Bunker ' C ' oil into 190 miles (305 km) of coastline in Richmond and Guysborough Counties was an unwelcome event. No such major spill of already thick Bunker ' C ' into frigid environment, nor a removal of oil from a submerged tanker, were ever encountered before. The oil, once in the wintry seas, formed such a stable mixture that clean up or recovery was next too impossible. As a result, mistakes in clean up techniques and coordination were made and risks were taken that did not entirely pan out. Once new operation commanders assumed responsibility, different clean up and recovery methods were employed. "Operation Oil" progressed into the fall of 1970, pumping 1.3 million gallons of cargo from the "Arrow", and cleaning 30 miles of shoreline, of which only 13.3 km remained somewhat polluted by 1994.

With some prior knowledge, the urgency of "Operation Oil" would have been unnecessary. After the spill of the "Kurdistan", the mistakes of the "Arrow" allowed clean up efforts to cleanse 880 km of shoreline and tow the stern to port to remove its oil. Today ecological considerations and technological innovations make clean up faster and far more efficient; all while those involved in any spill are fully compensated and have clean up expenses paid for.