Katja
The Katja spill in the Port of Le Havre is an illustration of one important fact, namely that compared with major spills that are often used as "benchmarks", small spills can sometimes require extensive resources and have a major impact on the local economy whilst keeping the media very busy.
Aerial photo of the Katja spill in Le Havre
(Source: Cedre)
The accident
This spill occurred at 12:20 am on 7 August 1997 after a berthing
error at oil wharf number 3 in the Port of Le Havre. The Katja is
a VLCC with an overall length of 232 metres. She is registered in
the Bahamas and was built in 1995, according to new construction
standards requiring a double hull imposed by recent US legislation
in the wake of the Exxon Valdez. One bunker tank was holed and according
to US legislation a double hull was not required for this section
of the vessel. Consequently, 187 tonnes of bunker C were released
into oil wharf number 3. The oil was an heavy fuel oil with a density of 0.98
and was viscous (350 cSt at 50 °C).
The spill occurred just before ebb tide. As the tugs finished positioning
the Katja for berthing, almost half of the spill escaped from the
terminal, drifted southwards through the harbour basins polluting
port facilities. Approximately 30 to 60 tonnes of the spill escaped
from the harbour area on the morning of the 7th and drifted out
to sea with the outgoing tide.
Initial countermeasures
Two hours after the spill, floating booms were set up to contain
the spill. At 07:40 am Cedre was put on alert by the fire brigade in the Port
of Le Havre. After contacting the Port Authorities and the Civil
Defence, two engineers from Cedre were sent to assist the Port Authorities.
At 08:30 am the Seine Maritime Prefect met with his crisis management
specialists but decided not to activate the Polmar Plan.
Response operations
Polmar stockpiles were quickly released for use by the Seine Maritime
Prefect. Persistent fog lasted 4 days making aerial reconnaissance
impossible. North easterly winds (10 knots) pushed the oil towards
the Calvados beaches and the oil began to hit the shore on Friday
8 August from Trouville to Villerville.
A strike force of 300 (from the local authorities, the fire brigade,
the army) was organised. The beaches in Le Havre and Saint Adresse
were only cleaned up on a large scale once the risk of pollution
had been averted, 4 days after the spill.
Name: Katja
Date: 7 August 1997
Location: France
Accident area: Le Havre's port
Cause of spill: error
Quantity transported: 80 000 tonnes
Type of pollutant: bunker fuel oil (Bunker C)
Quantity spilled: 187 m³
Ship type: double bottom tanker
Date built: 1995
Length: 232 m
Flag: Bahamian
Developments were closely monitored by the Préfecture Maritime
in Cherbourg. The tug the Acharné, fitted with dispersant spraying
equipment, was sent to spray the slick that was drifting in the
Seine estuary. The spraying operation was of limited sucess as the
oil was viscous and sea was very calm which meant that the dipsersant
and oil did not mix.
During the week that led up to the long weekend
of 15 August, crisis management and strike personnel gradually wound
down and the ban on bathing was lifted.
Cleaning operations in the port of Le Havre
(Source: Cedre)
Lessons learned
This spill occurred late at night during the holiday season in foggy
conditions with not much media coverage to talk of. Here were all
the ingredients needed to produce a relatively small scale crisis.
As the Port Authorities strived to improve their operational readiness
to mitigate a harbour spill and stop it from spreading, Cedre was
requested to draw up reflex decision cards for use as part of an
operational contingency plan for the port of Antifer, the harbour
basins in Le Havre and the Grand Canal. A training exercise was
subsequently scheduled in Antifer during the second half of 1998.
Last update: April 2006