Tanker (1f).
L/B/D:
1,095.5 × 167.6 × 85.9 (334m × 51.1m × 26.2m). Tons:
109,700 grt; 233,690 dwt. Hull:
steel. Comp.:
44. Mach.:
diesel, 30,400 hp, 1 screw; 15 kts. Built:
Astilleros Españoles, SA, Cadiz; 1974.
The very large crude carrier (VLCC) Amoco Cadiz was built to carry oil between the Persian Gulf and Europe. In early February 1978, she loaded 121,157 tons of oil at Ras Tanara, Saudi Arabia, and then topped off with 98,640 tons at Kharg Island, Iran. (A ton of crude is 7.3 barrels, or 306.6 gallons.) She left the Persian Gulf on February 7, bound for Rotterdam, via Lyme Bay, England, a customary stop to lighten tankers before the passage up the North Sea. Rounding the Cape of Good Hope on the 28th, she made a fueling stop at Las Palmas on March 11. Three days later Amoco Cadiz began to encounter heavy weather, which continued through March 16, by which point she was entering the English Channel, due into Lyme Bay later that day. At about 0916, the tanker was about eight miles north of Ushant when her steering gear failed. Although Captain Pasquale Bandari hoisted the international signal for "Not Under Command" almost immediately, he did not request assistance until 1120, when his engineer determined that the damage was irreparable. The German salvage tug Pacific, under command of Captain Weinert, arrived on the scene at 1220. The first tow was secured at 1425 but parted at 1719. As Amoco Cadiz drifted toward shore, the port anchor was let go at about 2004, but it did not hold. A second tow was secured at 2023, but the sheer mass of Amoco Cadiz in the teeth of Force 10 weather conditions made it impossible for Pacific to do more than slow the ship's coastward drift.
At 2104, Amoco Cadiz touched bottom for the first time, and her hull and storage tanks were ripped open. Half an hour later she grounded on Men Goulven Rocks in 48°36N, 4°46W. Her crew were rescued by helicopter. At 1000 on March 17 the vessel broke in two, spilling 223,000 tons of crude oil. The oil slick spread across 125 miles of the coast of Brittany, destroying fisheries, oyster and seaweed beds, and bathing beaches despite the efforts of 10,000 French soldiers deployed to clean the beaches. The storm continued to pound the ship, and on March 28 she broke into three sections. The French Navy subsequently destroyed the remains of the ship with depth charges. It would be another ten years before the resulting lawsuits were wound up, and in 1988 a U.S. federal judge ordered Amoco Oil Corporation to pay $85.2 million in fines—$45 million for the costs of the spill and $39 million in interest.
Chelminski, Superwreck: "Amoco Cadiz." Hooke, Modern Shipping Disasters: 1963-1987.
