13°05′N55°28′W / 13.083°N 55.467°W /13.083; -55.467
| History | |
|---|---|
 Liberia | |
| Name | SSAtlantic 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: 7358975 |
| 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 | 16knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
SSAtlantic Empress was a Greekoil tanker that in 1979 collided with the oil tankerAegean Captain in theCaribbean, and eventually sank, having created the fifthlargest oil spill on record and the largest ship-based spill having spilled 287,000 metric tonnes ofcrude oil into the Caribbean Sea. It was built at theOdense Staalskibsværft shipyard inOdense, Denmark, and launched on 16 February 1974.
TheAtlantic Empress was a large crude oil carrier built at theOdense Staalskibsværft shipyard inOdense, Denmark, and launched on 16 February 1974. At the time of her sinking, she was owned by the South Gulf Shipping Company of Greece, andflagged in Liberia.[1]
On 19 July 1979Atlantic Empress collided with theAegean Captain, another fully laden Greek supertanker, 18 nautical miles (33 km) east of the island ofTobago. At the time of the collisionAtlantic Empress was sailing from Saudi Arabia toBeaumont, Texas, with a cargo oflight crude oil owned byMobil Oil.Aegean Captain was en route to Singapore fromAruba.[2]
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 theEmpress tearing a hole in theCaptain'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 theEmpress's crew members, and one crew member on theCaptain.[3] The remaining crew from both ships were taken to Tobago for medical treatment, while theEmpress's captain was transported to a hospital in Texas, having inhaled fire.[2]
Firefighters from theTrinidad and Tobago Coast Guard brought the fires aboard theCaptain under control the next day, and members of her crew returned to the ship, and were able to bring her intoCuraçao, where her cargo was off-loaded. Meanwhile, a five-man specialist emergency crew from the Dutch Salvage organization Smit International[4] and the German Bugsier, managed by a Salvage inspector of Smit International, attempted to control the fire aboardEmpress, and contain the spreading oil slick. Two tugs (one of them being theSmit Zwarte Zee) towed the burning ship further out to sea.[2]
On 24 July, a week after the collision, theEmpress was still burning, and alsolisting, 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, theEmpress sank, having spilled 287,000 metric tonnes of crude oil into the Caribbean Sea.[2]
By comparison, in theExxon Valdez spill ten years later 37,000 metric tonnes of oil was released.[5]
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1979 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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