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Atlantic Empress/Aegean Captain19 July 1979

Group membersNANTHABADRANDHAEFSADEQAtlantic Empress/Aegean Captain are both oil supertankers.was cruising in the carribean sea.They have collided few miles off the coast of tobago islandThe collision killed 26 crew members (sailors) and spilling 287,000 tonnes of crude oil into the sea.The Atlantic Empress and the front part of the Aegean Captain went up in fire.it was the worst oil-tanker accident in history at that time.it is quite rare where an oil tanker collides with another oil tanker in the history.INTRODUCTION:

Name: Atlantic Empress/Aegean CaptainDate: 19 July 1979Location: CaribbeanAccident area: 18 miles of TobagoCause of spill: collisionTime of the incident: 7:15 pmQuantity transported: 280,000 tonnes,200,000tones by aeagen captainType of pollutant: crude oilQuantity spilled: 287,000 tonnes

Incident Information

Atlantic Empress: Ship type: oil supertankerDate built: 1974Length: 347 m(which is longer than three stadiums)Width: 52 mFlag: GreekContinued in fire for 15 days

Routs Taken: Atlantic Empress was sailing from Saudi Arabia to Texas, with a cargo of light crude oil owned by Mobil Oil.Aegean Captain was en route to Singapore from Aruba in the Lesser Antilles.Aruba is small Caribbean island about the size of Washington D.C, located 25 km north of the coast of Venezuela.45,000,000$ at that time

347 mLocation of collosion

It is located in the southern Caribbean, in the Atlantic oceanNature of accidentDuring tropical storm of the island of Tobago and in heavy rain and very thick fog which reduced the visibility. -The two ships did not sight each other until they were 600 yards apart. -Aegean Captain notice the Atlantic impress changed course, unfortunately it was too late.

the two ships impacted, with the Empress tearing a hole in the Captain's starboard bow

- . Large fires began on each ship, which were soon beyond the control of the crews

-The crews had to abandon the ship.

Nature of accident- On July 24, a week after the collision, the Empress was still burning, and also listing, which consequence in the next day a larger explosion increased the rate to 7,000-15,000 gallons an hour, twice the original rate. - Finally, on 3 August, the Empress finally sank and has spilled all its quantity 276,000 metric tonnes of crude oil into the Caribbean Sea.

Loss and cost:- Definitely nothing is valuable than the human life and ecological lives. - In addition to the 26 person that were killed and the injuries including the captain of Atlantic empress because of the fire inhaled and others in such a disaster.

- The ship was valued 45 million dollar.

287,000 tonnes of crude oil that was extracted by Mobil company from Saudia Arabia ,spilled and burned.-The extinguishing cost which took of them 2 weeks trying to extinguish the exploded ship( Atlantic empress).

Loss and cost cont:Rescue and Clean up method. Firefighters from the Tobago Coast Guard brought the fires aboard the Captain under control the next day, and some of the ship crew were able to bring her into Curaao, where her cargo was off-loaded. - news reports of the surrounding areas only reported minimal shoreline oiling.

-Mobil Oil, which owned the Empress' cargo, brought in a five-man oil disaster crew to work with local officialsRescue and clean up- However, they did not conduct anyprofessional and scientific studies of the area , leaving the ultimate effects on the environment unknown. 50 person were able to survive include 3 women from the Atlantic empress.And the captain of the Atlantic empress was carried to Texas, for treating from fire inhald.

Clean up There wasn't much clean up, actually because the climate was in charge to take care of it. The cargo was light crude, and it spilled in warm waters. This meant that much of the oil either evaporated or fell into the ocean in clumps, which were broken down by microbes. Also, a large amount of the cruid oil had burned off during the crash.Dispersants were sprayed by four planes and five boats on the small amout of oil floating in the tobago channel

Chart

Spills over 700 tonnes represent 3% of the total number of spills ,over 62% of these spills are result from collision and groundings.Atlantic empress

Mobil responseit was decided to assemble an emergency meeting of the Pollution Response Team at Headquarters to decide upon a course of action. Mobil decided to respond, although it was in no way responsible for the accident or even for the resultant pollution, but because it was probably in the best position to mount an effective response and because the owners of the Atlantic Empress had requested Mobil to respond.

Mobil response

As a result of mobile decision a five-men team, consisting of representatives of Corporate Environmental Affairs, Mobil Shipping and Transportation Co., and Public Relations, were on the first available flight to Port of Spain, Trinidad,

Safety precautions:- Not to solely rely on the visual view that should be conducted by the navigators.-Maintain, updating the Radars devices and navigation equipment periodically in case, they go out of service suddenly.-Following the instructions and limits of the shipping lines, so each carrier knows its way preciously.-

Safety precautions cont :Keeping the communication with the control centre and with the nearest areas frequently during the whole sailing.-Avoiding the sailing in the bad weathers and whenever the sight is not clear, and stop the carriers if necessary.

Conclusion The conclusions from this incident show that even an event of disaster proportions can be handled without serious pollution problems. Through a combination of preplanned response, good cooperation from all parties, selection of priorities to minimize pollution, and a lot of help from nature. The sinking of the Atlantic Empress did not contaminate any shoreline or significantly impact the environment of the ocean. In addition, lessons were learned that will lead to even better preparation for such events in the future.

ReferencesGillis, Carly. "Atlantic Empress And Aegean Captain Oil Spill: A Brief History.Soter, Tom. "Supertankers Collide in Caribbean". Firehouse (Cygnus Business Media)."Case Histories". International Tanker Owners Pollution FederationVisser, Auke . "Atlantic Empress". International Super Tankers.Thank you for listening