MV Argo Merchant

The Argo Merchant after stranding

  • Arcturus
  • Perminia Samudra III
  • Vari

Bureau Veritas

The Argo Merchant was a Liberian oil tanker with a survey of approximately 18 743 GRT. On December 15, 1976, he was stranded on the Nantucket Shoals and later broke apart. Approximately 25,000 tons of oil leaked into the sea.

History

The ship

The ship was built in 1953 as hull number 886 Arcturus under the HDW shipyard in Hamburg. The turbine tankers had to ensure the longitudinal strength of the long time for his torso, two longitudinal bulkheads, eleven oil-tight bulkheads and 30 cargo tanks with a total capacity of 38,500 m³. The bulwark transitions were because the client demonstrated their harmonious lines, running from the main deck to the superstructure, respectively in long Straks.

1968 Named one of the tankers in Perminia Samudra III, 1970 was followed by another name change in Vari. After eleven years, more invisible operation in 1964 the first problems with the engines, machinery and crew on. From 1964 to 1973, the ship has been involved in 14 accidents. These included a collision in Japan, two strandings in Indonesia ( as Permina Samudra III) and Sicily ( as Vari ). Then got the ship in 1973 by its last shipping company, Thebes Shipping Inc. in Monrovia, the name Argo Merchant. From 1975 smaller cases of oil pollution occurred in Philadelphia and Boston. A Commander of the first Coast Guard District recommended that time, the ship to prohibit the operation in U.S. waters, which could not be performed due to the former legislation.

The stranding

In December 1976, the Argo Merchant was under the command of Captain Georgios Papadopoulos on a trip from Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela to Boston. Their cargo consisted of about 25,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil no. 6 and about 6,000 tons of cutter stock ( light petroleum ).

On December 15, 1976 6:00 clock the ship ran aground in bad weather with a three meter wave height on the approximately 29 nautical miles southeast of the island of Nantucket located Fishing Rip / Middle Rip Shoal of Nantucket Shoals (Position: 41 ° 2 ' N, 69 ° 27 ' W41.033333333333 - 69.45 ).

Worth mentioning is the first application of 1969 but adopted only in 1975 that came into force the International Convention Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Oil Pollution Casualties ( Intervention Convention 1969) in this context. The U.S. Coast Guard came on board, examined the ship and decided on how to proceed, even though the ship was in international waters. Until the intervention Convention a port State solely in its national waters and only the papers, but not the ship itself could investigate. The captain of the Argo Merchant asked permission to be allowed to pump charge overboard to reduce the depth and to allow the vessel to float again. Having no such official permission was given and all attempts the ship with spare pumps and an air -deliverable antipollution Transfer System ( ADAPTS ) had failed to facilitate, the weather conditions, after which the 38 - member crew of the disabled vessel was abgeborgen deteriorated.

On December 17, the ship swung around in the seas and the hull began to aufzuwölben. After another four days, on 21 December, the ship broke in two parts, about 5,000 tons of oil leaked into the sea. The bow broke on the fore side of ( amidships arranged ) from bridge superstructures and capsized on the following day, with the remaining therein nor charge leaked. After the broken bow had been driven approximately 400 meters south-east, it was sunk by the U.S. Coast Guard. The stern remained on the Strandungsposition. The Coast Guard took at least two attempts to burn the oil spill in situ, but failed with their projects.

Due to the local current and tidal conditions and northwestern winds was further leaking oil that had formed an approximately 60 times 100 nautical miles measured oil slick, driven away from the coast Nantucket. Due to the continuing bad weather the uncharted depths rescue efforts were hampered.

Investigation

In the later study, a number of shortcomings have been identified, which had led to the Argo Merchant about 24 nautical miles (44 km) drove beside her planned course. Among other things, gyro and radio direction finders were broken, two crew members employed as helmsman were not sufficiently qualified and there were no adequate nautical charts on board.

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