TANKER ACCIDENTS STRIKE IN MEDITERRANEAN

Holiday beaches along the northern Mediterranean coast of France and Italy were threatened last week by 70,000-110,000 bbl of Iranian crude that spilled into the sea after an explosion and fire on the Cyprus flagged Haven tanker. But the threat of a big environmental accident seemed to have dimmed when the 232,163 dwt vessel was moved into shallower water off the port of Genoa and allowed to sink. The Haven sinking was the second tanker accident off Italy.

April 22, 1991

3 min read

But the threat of a big environmental accident seemed to have dimmed when the 232,163 dwt vessel was moved into shallower water off the port of Genoa and allowed to sink.

The Haven sinking was the second tanker accident off Italy.

The Agip Abruzzo was still on fire last week about 21/2 miles off Leghorn after the vessel collided with a ferry in which 143 persons died.

Agip Abruzzo was carrying almost 600,000 bbl of crude. A small slick of oil about 1 mile square had been contained by emergency services. Italian authorities said efforts were made to dowse the fire and ensure that no more oil leaked into the sea. A vessel equipped with a nitrogen production unit moved in to assist firefighters.

HAVEN SPILL

The International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation said the Haven spill had been reduced to a trickle. Most of the 1 million bbl cargo appeared to be intact.

A massive cleanup operation is under way. Booms have been deployed to protect sensitive areas along the coast. However, oil moved ashore in a number of places.

A slick extended for about 18 miles from Genoa to the island of Gallinara. Most of the oil was about 3 miles offshore, but in some areas oil was less than 1/2 mile from beaches.

Industry sources said sea and weather conditions were ideal for picking up crude and estimated that as much as 25,000 bbl had been recovered.

The Haven was hit by an Apr. 11 explosion off Italy and caught fire. Two crewmen died, and another three are missing from the first incident.

The tanker was rocked by more large blasts. Italian authorities then decided to tow the vessel to a sheltered, shallow water area 1 mile off Genoa where it would be easier to salvage the remaining cargo.

Troodos Shipping & Trading, Cyprus, agent for the vessel, said the sea around the site of the sunken tanker had been ringed with a boom to contain the limited amounts of oil that were still escaping.

Remote controlled and manned submarines inspected the hull of the sunken vessel and reported two small holes that were leaking small volumes of oil.

Italian emergency services brought in help from the oil industry's Oil Spill Response Center in the U.K. to assist its fleet of 28 tugs and cleanup vessels that were working on the slick. Methods to recover the cargo were under consideration.

Haven, formerly Amoco Milford Haven, was on her maiden voyage after a 2 year refit in Singapore. Built in 1973, she was a sister ship to the Amoco Cadiz that was wrecked off northern France. That caused the worst maritime pollution seen in Northwest Europe when 1.6 million bbl of oil spilled along the coast of Brittany in 1978.