MT-Haven is a supertanker that exploded in 1991 and later sank off the coast of Genoa , Italy. The ship was loaded with 144,000 tons (1 million barrels) of crude oil. During the disaster, six crew members died, and up to 50,000 tons of crude oil were thrown into the Mediterranean Sea .
| Amoco Milford Haven MT Haven | |
|---|---|
 The remains of MT Haven at the bottom of the sea | |
| Flag |  Cyprus |
| Class and type of vessel | Tanker |
| IMO Number | |
| Manufacturer | Astilleros Españoles Cadiz , Spain |
| Commissioned | 1973 |
| Withdrawn from the fleet | April 11, 1991 |
| Status | Sank |
| Main characteristics | |
| Displacement | deadweight 233,690 tons |
| Length | 334.02 m |
| Width | 51.06 m |
| Draft | 19.80 m |
| Power | 30400 h.p. |
| Speed | 15 knots (28 km / h) |
| Crew | 44 |
Content
History
MT Haven (originally named Amoco Milford Haven ) was built in Cadiz , Spain, and was the twin ship of the ship Amoko Cadiz , which sank in 1978. Launched in 1973, he worked in various oil delivery routes from the Middle East and the Persian Gulf. In 1987, during the Iran-Iraq War, one of the missiles hit MT Haven while it was in the Persian Gulf. Converted in Singapore, MT Haven delivered oil from the Iranian terminal on Hark Island to the ports of the Mediterranean Sea.
Holocaust
On April 11, 1991, loaded with 230,000 tons of MT Haven crude oil, it was located off the Multedo floating platform, seven miles off the coast of Genoa, Italy. Having discharged 80,000 tons of oil, it was disconnected from the platform for the planned internal operation of redistributing oil from two side tanks to the central one.
Later, describing what happened, the senior assistant captain Donatos Lilis said: “I heard a very loud noise, as if the iron rods were beating against each other. It looks like the pump cover was broken. Then there was a terrible explosion. ”
Five crew members died immediately, as a fire broke out, oil began to flow from the hull, as from an overheated pan. After the ship caught fire, the flame rose to 100 m in height, and, after a series of further explosions, approximately 30-40 thousand tons of oil spilled into the sea.
The Italian authorities acted quickly - hundreds of rescuers took part in the extinguishing of the fire, inflatable barriers about 10 km long were installed around the ship to control the leak. The next day, MT Haven tried to tow closer to shore in an effort to localize the area of the affected areas and simplify the mitigation operation.
But it soon became clear that the ship had a rupture in the hull and the bow was separated and sank. On April 14, the entire main 250-meter section of the hull plunged under water a mile and a half from the coast, between Arenzano and Varazza .
After flooding
Some time after the flooding, the wreckage of the tanker was examined using a mini-submarine , and it was found that the stern was on a rocky ledge. It was concluded that most of the remaining 80,000 tons of crude oil burned out or turned up on the surface. Most of the oil on the surface could be collected, and the one that remained under water is in a solid state. Over the next 12 years, the Mediterranean coast of Italy and France suffered from oil pollution, especially in the vicinity of Genoa and southern France.
Accident MT Haven is one of the largest shipwrecks in the sea. The remains of the ship are located at a depth of 33-83 meters off the coast of Genoa, which makes it a popular tourist attraction for divers.
See also
- Amoko Cadiz is the twin ship MT Haven, which sank in 1978 and caused an oil spill.
Literature
- George D. Catalano. Tragedy in the Gulf: A Call for a New Engineering Ethic . - Google e-book. - Morgan & Claypool Publishers, 2011 .-- P. 21. - 79 p. - (Synthesis lectures on engineering, technology, and society (Vol. 15)). - ISBN 9781608456284 .
Links
- The ten largest oil spills in history . infoniac.ru (May 12, 2010). Date of treatment June 28, 2014.
- 10 Biggest Oil Spills in History. M / T Haven Tanker, 1991 . Popular Mechanics. Date of treatment June 28, 2014.
- E. Amato. An Environmental Restoration Program 12 Years After: the HAVEN Wreck (PDF). Les journées d'information du CEDR (6 octobre 2003). Date of treatment June 28, 2014. (unavailable link)