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MAKING OCEANS AND SEAS SAFER

Analysing disasters and accidents at sea and learning from them
leads to formulation of safer ship building norms and
implementation of enhanced safety regimes leading to safer
oceans and seas.
IMPORTANT SHIP DISASTERS
Bulk Carriers

Tankers

Passenger Ships

M.V.KOWLOON
BRIDGE

M.T. TORREY CANYON

M.T. AMOCO CADIZ

RMS(SS) TITANIC

M.V.DERBYSHIRE

M.T. EXXON VALDEZ

RMHS(SS) BRITANNIC

M.V.MINERAL
DIAMOND

RMS(SS) OLYMPIC

MV HERALD
OF FREE
ENTERPRISE
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M.V.KOWLOON BRIDGE

M.V.Kowloon Bridge was carrying

165,000 tons of iron ore and 2,000 tons of oil
from Seven Islands, Quebec for the River Clyde.
She ran aground on the Stagg Rocks
during a gale after losing steerage.
She had previously sheltered for a few
days in Bantry Bay to repair cracks in her
decks before venturing out.
Her 1,200 tons of bunker fuel caused
serious pollution in the area.

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M.V.DERBYSHIRE

On 9 September,1980 the 169,000 deadweight-ton,

Capesize, combination carrier (OBO) Derbyshire (originally the
Liverpool Bridge), one of the largest bulkers ever built in the UK,
bound for the Japanese port of Kawasaki, disappeared
mysteriously, some 400 miles off Okinawa, in a typhoon. She sent
this ast message: 'Vessel hove to violent storm force 11.'
The storm was Typhoon Orchid, and the ship was never heard from
again. Every one of the crew of 44 perished.
Possible reason structural failure.
In 1996, the wreckage of Derbyshire was located at a depth of 4
km (2.4 miles). Pictures of her hull, taken by a mini-submarine,
showed a huge hole near its stern. Five other bulk carriers built in
the same way had suffered cracks in this area.

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In 1998 an investigation into the fate of Derbyshire

concluded that the bulk carrier had not been split in two. Rather,
as the full force of Typhoon Orchid struck the bulk carrier, the
hatch covers over its holds had been blown in and the ship had
been sunk by thousands of tons of water. It had all happened so
quickly that no SOS could have been sent.
The following video is the investigators best guess as
to possible sequence of events:

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M.V.MINERAL DIAMOND
Mineral Diamond, a very large ore/ coal carrier disappeared
2 days after sailing in May 1991,from Port of Dampier, in North
Western Australia, bound for Rotterdam with a cargo of 190,000
MT of coal.
She missed her 48 hour mandatory position reporting to
owners SAR could not locate anything. Ship went down with
Capt. Kharas and complete crew without even a SOS being given
out.
Possible reasons structural failure.
Safety rules developed from bulk carrier disasters:
I)

SOLAS Ch XII Additional safety measures for

Bulk Carriers;

II) Dynamic structural stress monitoring systems

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M.T.TORREY CANYON
"ASHORE ON SEVEN STONES,
REQUIRE IMMEDIATE
ASSISTANCE".
This message, received on
Saturday, 18th. March, 1967,
heralded the drama surrounding
the 118.000 d.w.t. Liberianregistered tanker "Torrey Canyon".
Salvage tugs gave up after she
broke in two. The final entry in the
log told its own story: No cure.
In a bid to contain oil spread, RAF
bombed the ship setting her afire.

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M.T.AMOCO CADIZ

March 16, 1978 - FRANCE - About 1.6 million (227,000 MT)

barrels of crude spilled after the Amoco Cadiz ran aground near
Portsall in France's worst ever tanker accident.
The resulting slick eventually covered 125 miles of Breton
coast. Reason for grounding Steering Gear Failure

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M.T.EXXON VALDEZ

On 23 March1989, the 300-metre (987

foot) supertanker Exxon Valdez set out on a
routine voyage from the Alaskan oil terminal
at Valdez to ports on the US west coast.
Just after midnight, Exxon Valdez
struck Bligh Reef. Oil began to gush out of its
hull, which had been holed. In time, over 11
million gallons would be discharged into
Prince William Sound.

Ten hours elapsed before the Valdez terminal's emergency

teams arrived. They tried to contain the oil by deploying booms
and skimmers, but these only trapped the surface oil.
Aircraft attempted to break up the oil by spraying chemicals
on it. The remainder of Exxon Valdez's oil was transferred to
another tanker, but too much had already escaped.
Finally, efforts were made to burn off the oil but this
merely polluted the atmosphere.

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The result was the worst case of oil pollution in US history, which
had a devastating effect on the local ecology and economy. Exxon
Valdez's captain was charged with criminal mischief, driving a
watercraft while intoxicated, reckless endangerment and the
negligent discharge of oil. He was found guilty on the last count.

Safety rules developed from oil tanker disasters:

I)

Enhanced rules for toil tanker steering gears

and compartments;

II) OPA Act 1990 banning single hull Oil Tankers;

III) Abolishing CBT Tankers;
IV) In future banning bunker oil storage in
shipside single skin tanks.
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THE THREE SISTERS

The keel of the first ship, the SS Olympic, was laid in
December 1908, and the SS Titanic followed suit three months
later.
The Olympic was launched in October 1910, and the Titanic
in May 1911.
The Olympic's maiden voyage took place in June 1911, and
the Titanic's in April 1912

SS OLYMPIC and SS TITANIC

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SS / RMS OLYMPIC

After the loss of her sister-ship the Titanic, the

Olympic, was taken out of service, and returned to
Harland and Wolff, for extensive modifications. These
modifications included -- The double bottom of the hull
was extended to the waterline, Full height bulkheads
replaced the older much shorter ones, and more lifeboats
was added, to have enough space for all on board
On the 27th of March 1935, the Olympic sailed her
last voyage, from South Hampton to New York, and return.
After this, she was taken to the ships graveyard for
dismantling, and on the 19th of September 1937, she was
towed to Inverkeithing for final demolition

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SS / RMS TITANIC

At 12pm on Wednesday the 10th of April 1912, the R.M.S.

Titanic left Southampton on her maiden voyage. She was heading
to Cherbourg, and from there, was heading to Queenstown, before
heading out on the North Atlantic to New York . On Sunday the
14th of April 1912, at 11:40pm, while traveling at a speed of 22
knots, the Titanic struck an iceberg, fatally wounding the ship.
1,523 souls, lost their lives, during the early
morning hours of Monday the 15th of April 1912, on board
the RMS Titanic

Background of this presentation shows RMS

Titanic moving out from Southampton

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SS / RMHS BRITANNIC

The third ship of the planned triumvirate, the Britannic,

was finally launched (after extensive modifications and with
considerably less fanfare than her sisters) in April 1914.Like her
sister ship Titanic, she wasn't around long, though: World War I
broke out before the Britannic ever went into passenger service;
she was requisitioned by the Royal Navy and pressed into service
as a hospital ship; and she struck a mine and sank off the coast of
Greece in November 1916.
The wreck has been located recently perhaps the
large openings in the hull suggest that she was also loaded
with ammunition.
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HERALD OF FREE ENTERPRISE

On 6 March1987 the Townsend Thoresen cross-Channel

ferry Herald of Free Enterprise capsized outside the Belgian port
of Zeebrugge on with the loss of 193 lives. Its bow door had been
improperly closed, allowing the car deck to flood.

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Safety rules developed from passenger

disasters:
I) Complete SOLAS;
II) ISM Code added to SOLAS after
sinking of Herald of Free Enterprise;

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