It certainly does.
As Mr. Given said, it is done safely. There have been improvements over the years. Single-skin tankers are outlawed now. They all have double hulls, so even if a ship were to lose its steering and strike something, chances are that it would just get a hole in the outside tank and no oil would be spilled.
The construction of ships has improved, safety-wise, as has the training of the pilots and the captains on the Great Lakes ships. The seaway has also made improvements to safety.