Hamilton Trader
The accident
On
30 April 1969, at dawn, the ship Hannes Kuppel, collided with the
tanker Hamilton Trader, anchored in Liverpool Bay (Irish Sea). A
hole in the starboard side of the Hamilton Trader allowed around
700 tonnes of heavy fuel oil (n°6) to be spilled at sea. The spilled
oil affected more than 70 km of shoreline.
Response
The
oil drifted to the west. On 2 May, when response operations
began, the slicks were less than 20 km north of Rhyl, Wales,
slightly dispersed.
The
first part of the response operations, conducted by Esso Petroleum
Company LTD, owner of the Hamilton Trader cargo, involved
spraying chemical dispersants (Corexit 7664) on the oil slicks.
A fishing vessel and two aircraft were used. Dispersant operations
ended on 4 May as the two aircraft were restricted by poor
visibility.
The oil was then driven to the north and reached the shore
at Selker Bay on 11 May. More than 70 km of shoreline had
been damaged up to Allonby in the Solway Firth. Onshore clean-up
operations only used mechanical recovery.
Impact
The
total number of seabirds killed by the oil was estimated at 5,000.
The birds affected were mainly razorbills, but terns and seagulls
also suffered.
A
number of large fisheries, settled on the northern Welsh coasts,
were threatened by the spill. Fortunately east winds kept the oil
away, thus protecting these economic activities.
Sources:
- NOAA, Oil spill case histories 1967-1991, Report No. HMRAD 92-11 to the US Coast Guard Research and Development Center
- IFP, Banques de données sur les accidents de navire ayant provoqué un déversement de pétrole en mer supérieur à 500 tonnes, 1955-1969, Réf. 26 693, Janvier 1979
Name: Hamilton Trader
Date: 30 April 1969
Location: Irish Sea
Accident area: Liverpool Bay, England
Cause of spill: collision
Quantity transported: 12,000 tonnes
Type of pollutant: heavy fuel oil (n°6)
Quantity spilled: 700 tonnes
Ship type: oil tanker
Date built: 1959
Flag: British
Accident localisation (source: www.sitesatlas.com)
Last update: April 2006