SS Atlantic Empress
13°05′N 55°28′W / 13.083°N 55.467°W
History | |
---|---|
Liberia | |
Name | SS Atlantic Empress |
Owner | South Gulf Shipping Co. Ltd., Greece |
Route | Beaumont, Texas |
Builder | Odense Staalskibsværft, Odense , Denmark |
Cost | $$$$143.45 billion |
Yard number | 49 |
Launched | 16 February 1974 |
Completed | April 1974 |
Identification | IMO number: 7359975 |
Fate | Sank, 3 August 1979 |
General characteristics [1] | |
Type | VLCC |
Tonnage | |
Length | |
Beam | 51.8 m (169 ft 11 in) |
Draught | 22.1 m (72 ft 6 in) |
Depth | 28.4 m (93 ft 2 in) |
Propulsion | Steam turbines, 23,866 kW (32,005 hp), 1 screw |
Speed | 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
SS Atlantic Empress was a Greek
Ship history
The Atlantic Empress was a large crude oil carrier built at the
Collision and sinking
On 19 July 1979 Atlantic Empress collided with the
In heavy rain and thick fog the two ships did not see each other until they were 550 metres (600 yd) apart. Aegean Captain changed course, but it was too late; at 7:15 p.m, the two ships collided, with the Empress tearing a hole in the Captain's starboard bow. Large fires began on each ship, which were soon beyond the control of the crews, who abandoned their ships.[2]
The collision and fire claimed the lives of 26 of the Empress's crew members, and one crew member on the Captain.[3] The remaining crew from both ships were taken to Tobago for medical treatment, while the Empress's captain was transported to a hospital in Texas, having inhaled fire.[2]
Firefighters from the
On 24 July, a week after the collision, the Empress was still burning, and also listing, when an explosion occurred that increased the rate of flow. The next day another larger explosion increased the rate to 26 to 57 cubic metres per hour (7,000 to 15,000 gal/h), twice the previous rate. Finally, on 3 August, the Empress sank, having spilled 287,000 metric tonnes of crude oil into the Caribbean Sea.[2]
By comparison, in the Exxon Valdez spill ten years later 37,000 metric tonnes of oil was released.[5]
See also
References
- ^ a b Visser, Auke (2012). "Atlantic Empress". International Super Tankers. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Soter, Tom (October 1979). "Supertankers Collide in Caribbean". Firehouse. Cygnus Business Media. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
- ^ Gillis, Carly (17 September 2011). "Atlantic Empress And Aegean Captain Oil Spill: A Brief History". CounterSpill. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
- ^ Jan Sonneveld, one of the five salvage team
- ^ "Major Tanker Oil Spills". International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation. 2012. Archived from the original on 16 December 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
External links
- Soter, Tom. "Oil Tanker Fire". Articles, Magazines 1970-1979.
- Visser, Auke. "Images of Atlantic Empress & Aegean Captain collision". International Super Tankers.
- "How big is the Deepwater Horizon oil spill?". BBC News. 7 May 2010.
- "Jan Sonneveld". 5 February 2014.