SPILL CLEANUP EFFORT CONTINUES OFF GALVESTON

Cleanup efforts continued last week in the wake of an oil spill off Galveston, Tex.

Elf Trading Inc., owner of crude oil aboard the disabled Norwegian tanker Mega Borg, called two lightering vessels to the spill site 57 miles offshore, while 1 0 skimming vessels sought the last vestiges of oil released by a June 8 explosion and fire (OGJ, June 18, p. 13).

Elf chartered the 58,327 dwt Janus, under Norwegian flag, and the 86,053 dwt Atlantis, both owned by Jahre Shipping U.S.A. Inc., Houston, to take on oil from Mega Borg.

Smit American Salvage Inc. Executive Vice Pres. John Driscoll said Janus had pulled alongside and was scheduled to begin lightering operations the afternoon of June 20. About 5-7 days will be required for the operation.

Smit is the salvor for Mega Borg. The company doused the blaze aboard the tanker.

The U.S. Coast Guard reported only a small part of the oil released by Mega Borg during the accident had survived the fire and evaporation. What was left was about 7-10 miles offshore.

CLEANUP CAMPAIGN

A 10 vessel armada of craft led by the Eco Pemex a Mexican skimmer, had retrieved almost 500,000 gal of oil-water mousse last week. The Coast Guard said much of what was possible to retrieve had been collected.

Most estimates of the volume of oil thought to be at sea were less than 40,000 gal. Cleanup officials estimated that about 10% of the liquid skimmed was oil.

Coast Guard officials hesitated to estimate how much oil remained in the water.

Elf spokesman Tom Saunders said oil remaining on board Mega Borg had been undamaged by the fire and was scheduled to be delivered to Crown Central Petroleum Co. as originally planned.

"It is still mostly a sheen," he said of the spill. "Our skimmers are having a hard time finding pockets of heavier oil."

Saunders said the campaign was consistent with Elf's role in mobilizing the cleanup immediately upon receiving word of the accident.

"We made a decision to worry about the costs and related considerations later," Saunders said. "Luckily, we didn't have a pollution problem, but we certainly took actions we thought would prevent serious pollution.

"It has involved us quite heavily financially and administratively."

Driscoll said Mega Borg owners will decide within the coming week what to do with the tanker after its oil is removed via ship to ship transfer.

The Coast Guard was scheduled to have an inspector at the scene to assure the operation was carried out according to plan.

FIGHTING THE FIRE

Driscoll termed Smit's accident reaction time unbelievably swift.

The Carolyn Chouest fire fighting vessel owned by Eddison Chouest Offshore Inc., Galliano, La., reached Mega Borg within 10 hr. The salvage master at Smit's Galveston office arrived the morning of June 17 aboard the HOS Deep Sun, which had been outfitted with firefighting pumps, fire monitors, and foam.

The Damon Chouest arrived early June 10, and the Dino Chouest arrived that afternoon, together capable of pouring 55,000 gpm of water on a blaze.

The first of two foam attacks on the fire got under way the afternoon of June 14, reducing the blaze and further cooling adjacent cargo tanks.

Smit workers also reduced the flow of oil feeding the fire, temperatures fell further, and preparations began for the final foam assault. That occurred the morning of June 15, and at 10 a.m. June 16 senior salvage master Geert Koffeman reported to the Coast Guard the fire had been extinguished.

At a press conference that afternoon, Koffeman and other Smit spokesmen confirmed the fire had occurred in the pump and engine rooms, and it had been fed by oil from the damaged No. 4 center tank.

Smit personnel continued cooling the Mega Borg to protect the integrity of No. 4 center tank and adjacent tanks, monitoring the tanker for hot spots, pumping out flooded spaces, and transferring oil forward from tanks near the stern to stabilize the vessel. They also continued pumping inert gases into all containment spaces to reduce the chance of an explosion.

Most of the equipment and material employed for the operation came either from Smit's regional salvage station on Pelican Island near Galveston or was subcontracted locally.

Smit spokesman Tony Redding said, "The foam required to extinguish the fire was ready at the dock on the afternoon of June 9, within hours of the incident."

Stocks held and earmarked for use consisted of 20 drums of protein foam, each of 20 I., and 50 drums of the same size containing other types of foam.

Redding said efforts to cool the vessel to the point that a foam blanket could be contemplated were reinforced by the arrival of supply vessels Tradewinds, HOS Deep Sun, and Southern Moon.

"They were equipped for firefighting and dispatched to the scene promptly, increasing total cooling capacity on the site," he said.

Redding said Smit agreed to a Lloyds Open Form (LOF) salvage contract with the owner within 6 hr of the accident. He termed the contract a no cure-no pay arrangement.

"LOF is the world's most commonly used salvage contract, and it is designed to avoid waste of time," Redding said. "It is a device that avoids commercial haggling, which can lead to increased risk to life and property and possibly result in greater pollution.

"it is a way of getting things moving very quickly."

Bob Klawetter, a Houston lawyer speaking for Mega Borg's majority owner, Norwegian investment partnership K.S. Mega Borg 11, and the ship's operator, AS Mosvolds of Farsund, Norway, said about $4.2 million had been spent on cleanup and salvage through June 20.

At press time last week, Klawetter said investigators still had not determined the cause of the explosion.

"We're just now getting to the point we can get people on board to evaluate the full extent of the damage," he said.

Klawetter said although Mega Borg had experienced significant damage, it was too early to declare the vessel a total loss.

COAST GUARD MONITOR

Lt. Cmdr. Frank Whipple, executive officer of the Coast Guard Marine Safety Office in Galveston, said although the situation offshore was stable, the Coast Guard will continue monitoring the final stages of the operation.

"We are continuing our efforts on the cleanup offshore, and we are concentrating on getting the oil while it's still offshore, as well as assuring the contractors are doing a good job," Whipple said. "We are tying to get as much of the oil offshore as we can."

Whipple said about 4.6 million gal of oil was unaccounted for.

He confirmed the Coast Guard had been unable to associate reports of tar balls being washed ashore with Mega Borg.

"We've received reports of tarballs on the beaches," Whipple said.

"We've taken samples of those that have been reported to us. We have sent them in for analysis, and there has been nothing linked to the present situation."