On March 16, 1978, the Amoco Cadiz ran aground on Portsall Rocks,

three miles off the coast of Brittany due to failure of the steering
mechanism. The vessel had been en route from the Arabian Gulf to
Le Havre, France when it encountered stormy weather which
contributed to the grounding. The entire cargo of 1,619,048
barrels, spilled into the sea. A slick 18 miles wide and 80 miles long
polluted approximately 200 miles of Brittany coastline. Beaches of
76 different Breton communities were oiled. The isolated location
of the grounding and rough seas restricted cleanup efforts for the
two weeks following the incident. Severe weather resulted in the
complete break up of the ship before any oil could be pumped out
of the wreck. As mandated in the "Polmar Plan", the French Navy
was responsible for all offshore operations while the Civil Safety
Service was responsible for shore cleanup activities. Although the
total quantity of collected oil and water reached 100,000 tons, less
than 20,000 tons of oil were recovered from this liquid after
treatment in refining plants. Keyword: Adverse weather conditions,
boom, skimmer, vacuum truck, manual removal, high-pressure hot
water washing, sub-surface oil, remote response, BP 1100X, Finasol
OSR, BP 1100WD, Finasol OSR-5, chalk, low pressure washing,
disposal..
During the 1991 Gulf War, tankers and oil
terminals in Kuwait were destroyed, causing
the release of an estimated 6-8 million barrels
(252 - 336 million gallons) of oil into the
waters of the Arabian (Persian) Gulf. Many oil
wells in Kuwait were destroyed and set on
fire, resulting in the release of much greater
amounts of oil and combustion products to
land, air, and water in Kuwait. [Edited
05/18/2010 to clarify the amounts of oil
released to water vs land and air in this
incident.]
At approximately 0600 on December 15, 1976, the
Liberian tanker Argo Merchant went aground on
Fishing Rip (Nantucket Shoals), 29 nautical miles
southeast of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts in
high winds and ten foot seas. The vessel was
carrying approximately 183,000 barrels of No. 6
Fuel Oil (80%) and cutter stock (20%). The master
of the Argo Merchant requested permission to
dump cargo in an effort to control draft and re-
float the vessel. Permission was denied and
attempts to lighter and re-float the vessel using
emergency pumps and an Air Deliverable Anti-
Pollution Transfer System (ADAPTS) were
unsuccessful. The following day the weather
worsened and the crew of the Argo Merchant was
evacuated. On December 17 the vessel began to
pivot clockwise and buckle. On December 21 the
vessel broke in two aft of the king post, spilling
approximately 36,000 barrels of cargo. The bow
section split forward of the bridge and capsized
on December 22, resulting in the loss of the
remaining cargo. The bow section floated 400-500
yards to the southeast and was eventually sunk by
the USCG while the stern section remained
aground. Prevailing currents carried the spilled oil
away from the shorelines and beaches of
Nantucket. Weather conditions and uncharted
depths surrounding the wreck made salvage
attempts difficult.
On August 10, 1993, three ships collided in
Tampa Bay, Florida: the barge Bouchard 155,
the freighter Balsa 37, and the barge Ocean
255. The Bouchard 155 spilled an estimated
336,000 gallons of No. 6 fuel oil into Tampa
Bay.
At 1400 on March 6, the barge Cibo Savannah
exploded as it was being pulled from the dock at
Linden, New Jersey. 710,000 gallons of number
two fuel oil have been lost from two tanks.
Potential is a total of 4,000,000 gallons in twelve
tanks. The barge is owned by Montauk Oil
Transportation. The barge has been moved up
against the Citgo dock. The resulting fire has not
been contained and the barge is not under
command. Local fire departments are on-scene
and the EPA has established an air monitoring
station. USCG district 1.
On the morning of November 1, 1979, the
Burmah Agate and the Mimosa collided at
the entrance to Galveston Harbor. The
Mimosa struck the Burmah Agate on its
starboard side, tearing an 8 by 15 foot hole
in the hull near Cargo Tank No. 5. An
explosion occurred upon impact, and the
leaking oil ignited. The USCG immediately
dispatched the Coast Guard Cutter Valiant
to begin search and rescue operations. By
1230 all 26 crew members of the Mimosa
had been found, but only 6 of the Burmah
Agate's 37 crew members were accounted
for. The owners of the Burmah Agate
assumed responsibility for the spill
response. They contracted Clean Water,
Inc. for cleanup operations, and Smit
International Inc. to fight fires on the
Burmah Agate, and to assist in salvage. The
Burmah Agate burned until January 8, 1980
and was towed to Brownsville, Texas on
February 1 for scrapping. USCG district 8.
Keyword: Collision, explosion, fire, vacalls,
vacuum truck, Open Water Oil Containment
and Recovery System (OWOCRS), Open
Water Oil Recovery System (OWORS),
skimmers, U.S. Navy Superintendent of
Salvage (NAVSUPSALV), Clean Water,
lightering, salvage, Gulf Strike Team (GST),
boom, manual removal..
On March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez ran
aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William
Sound, Alaska. The tanker was traveling
outside the normal shipping lanes in an
attempt to avoid ice. It spilled 10.8
million gallons of oil (out of a total cargo
of 53 million gallons) into the marine
environment, and impacted more than
1,100 miles of non-continuous Alaskan
coastline. State and Federal agencies
continue to monitor the effects of this
spill, which was the largest oil spill in
U.S. history.
On June 3, 1979, the 2 mile deep exploratory
well, IXTOC I, blew out in the Bahia de
Campeche, 600 miles south of Texas in the Gulf
of Mexico. The water depth at the wellhead site
is about 50 m (164 feet). The IXTOC I was being
drilled by the SEDCO 135, a semi-submersible
platform on lease to Petroleos Mexicanos
(PEMEX). A loss of drilling mud circulation caused
the blowout to occur. The oil and gas blowing out
of the well ignited, causing the platform to catch
fire. The burning platform collapsed into the
wellhead area hindering any immediate attempts
to control the blowout. PEMEX hired blowout
control experts and other spill control experts
including Red Adair, Martech International of
Houston, and the Mexican diving company,
Daivaz. The Martech response included 50
personnel on site, the remotely operated vehicle
TREC, and the submersible Pioneer I. The TREC
attempted to find a safe approach to the
Blowout Preventer (BOP). The approach was
complicated by poor visibility and debris on the
seafloor including derrick wreckage and 3000
meters of drilling pipe. Divers were eventually
able to reach and activate the BOP, but the
pressure of the oil and gas caused the valves to
begin rupturing. The BOP was reopened to
prevent destroying it. Two relief wells were
drilled to relieve pressure from the well to allow
response personnel to cap it. Norwegian experts
were contracted to bring in skimming equipment
and containment booms, and to begin cleanup of
the spilled oil. The IXTOC I well continued to
spill oil at a rate of 10,000 - 30,000 barrels per
day until it was finally capped on March 23,
1980.
At 0845 on September 16, 1990, the tank vessel Jupiter
caught fire and exploded during offloading operations at the
Total Oil Company refinery on the Saginaw river near Bay
City, Michigan. A wake from a passing bulk carrier apparently
caused the parting of the Jupiter's transfer hose, grounding
cable, and all but one of its mooring lines. Residual gasoline
in the broken transfer hose was believed to have been
ignited by a spark on the dock. The Jupiter's stern swung
around into the Saginaw River and grounded perpendicular
to the direction of the river flow. The grounding resulted in
a crack in the vessel's hull from the manifold on the
starboard side to 75 feet aft of the manifold on the port
side. Area marinas were evacuated and vessel traffic was
halted. Bangor County Fire Department and USCG personnel
arrived on-scene within 30 minutes of the incident. The pier
fire was extinguished in an attempt to save the last mooring
line while the fire onboard the vessel remained out of
control. Williams Boots & Coots Company (WB&C) from
Houston, Texas, was contracted to fight the fire due to the
lack of locally available trained personnel and equipment. At
1315 on September 17, WB&C personnel extinguished the
blaze by applying foam. Carbon black accumulations falling
from the overhead re-ignited the fire at 2300. This second
blaze was cooled with water and extinguished with foam on
September 18. WB&C personnel also applied foam inside the
vessel's cargo tanks to prevent re-ignition of the vessel.
River flow data were obtained from the Army Corps of
Engineers to predict the oil movement. Shock waves from
the explosion may have contributed to the deaths of several
fish that were recovered from around the vessel. Neither
pollution nor shoreline contamination was observed during
the final survey of the area on October 22. USCG district 9.
Keyword: Boom, vacuum truck, fire, manual removal,
explosion, lightering, disposal..
On June 8, 1990 at approximately 2330, while
the Italian tank vessel Fraqmura was lightering
the Norwegian tank vessel Mega Borg, an
explosion occurred in the pump room of the
Mega Borg. The two ships were in the Gulf of
Mexico, 57 miles southeast of Galveston Texas in
international waters, but within the U.S.
exclusive economic zone. As a result of the
explosion, a fire started in the pump room and
spread to the engine room. An estimated
100,000 barrels of Angolan Palanca crude was
burned or released into the water from the Mega
Borg during the next seven days. Approximately
238 barrels of oil was discharged when the
Fraqmura intentionally broke away from the
Mega Borg. Explosions on the Mega Borg, caused
the stern of the ship began to settle lower in the
water and list to the port side. A continuous
discharge of burning oil flowed over the aft port
quarter of the ship. Less than an hour after the
explosions on the Mega Borg, the U.S. Coast
Guard (USCG) in Galveston dispatched two USCG
cutters to the scene. Weather was calm
throughout the incident. Winds were generally
around 10 to 15 knots and air temperature were
between 80 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit. USCG
district 8. Keyword: Corexit 9527, skimmer, Air-
Eye aircraft, side looking airborne radar (SLAR),
Atlantic Strike Team (AST), U.S. Navy Supervisor
of Salvage (NAVSUPSALV), AE BioSea Process,
explosion, fire, contingency plan..