A system for estimating a coast's vulnerability to oil spills is presented, based on geomorphological maps and environmental data collected in the Svalbard intertidal. As many as 19 factors were selected as important for oil spill assessment in the littoral. All factors have been grouped into different subject categories and a different rank of importance was given for each factor. Selected coast units may be described with regard to sensitivity to the oil spill by the index of vulnerability counted in each of the two categories. The western (Atlantic) coast has been described as more vulnerable when compared to eastern (Arctic) coasts of the archipelago.