Bow Mariner
On 28 February 2004, the chemical tanker the Bow
Mariner was transporting 11,000 tonnes of ethanol from New York
to Houston. A loud explosion occurred and the ship rapidly sank
50 miles of the coast of Virginia, 80 m deep. Three people were
killed in the accident and 18 others reported missing.
Ethanol is highly solublein water and slightly toxic. It has a low flash point and is classified
as Marpol category 3. The impact on the environment was slight.
The NOAA
ship the Rude
took sonar images to locate the wreck and determine its position
on the seabed.
The Virginia
Responder, a MSRC
(Marine Spill Response Corporation) response vessel, was
contracted by the American Coastguards from 29 to 5 March. She recovered
7 tonnes of hydrocarbon. There was no impact upon the coastline
or the fauna.
The company Smit was contracted to help in the search for the missing
people and to inspect the wreck, using the POLREC system, a combination
of ROLS (Remote Offloading System) and ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicles),
previously used in the Ievoli Sun
incident.
The wreck of Bow Mariner (source: NOAA)
Name: Bow Mariner
Date: 28 February 2004
Location: USA
Accident area : off the coast of Virginia
Cause of spill : explosion
Quantities transported : 11,000 tonnes of ethanol, 720 tonnes of heavy fuel oil (IFO 380) and 166 tonnes of marine diesel oil
Type of pollutants : ethanol, heavy fuel oil (IFO 380) and marine diesel oil
Ship type : chemical tanker
Date built : 1978
Length : 174 m
Flag : Singapore
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Last update: April 2011