Olympic Alliance
The incident
On
the morning of 12 November 1975, the oil tanker the Olympic Alliance
and the Royal Navy Frigate HMS Achilles collided in Dover Strait,
whilst sailing in thick fog. This resulted in two holes in the starboard
tank N°5 of the tanker. The first hole was situated just below
the deck line and the other around one metre below waterline. The
Olympic Alliance lost about 2,000 tonnes of oil just after
the collision.
Despite this, both vessels later continued on their
way towards their respective destinations, the HMS Achilles to Portsmouth
and the Olympic Alliance to Wilhemshaven in Germany. The latter
however lost an additional 10,000 tonnes of oil on her way. She
arrived in Germany on 15 November and anchored off Wilhemshaven.
On 18 November a decision was made to pump oil from tank N°5
and to transfer it into other tanks in the ship. When the operation
was complete, the Olympic Alliance was allowed to sail into the
harbour for unloading.
Response
Response operations in accordance with the British contingency plans
were organised immediately. A response centre was set up in Dover.
A tug and three fishing vessels were sent on site to start spraying
dispersants. Another tug from Southampton and a Royal Navy vessel
were also on their way. The following day ten vessels were involved
including two French vessels. A plane was also sent out to assess
the situation and to determine the Olympic Alliance's position.
During these flights, response personnel noticed that the oil tanker
was still losing oil. In total, 300 tonnes of dispersants were
used at sea, on the collision point and in the Olympic Alliance's
wake.
Unfortunately response at sea was not sufficient to keep slicks
from reaching the coast. On 13 November, oil polluted more than
30 km of coastline in the region of Dover and Folkestone. A
floating boom failed to prevent oil from entering Folkestone harbour,
and only part of the oil was successfully contained. Dispersants
were sprayed on the boomed oil and, at low tide, on oiled areas.
Damaged shorelines were cleaned using chemical and mechanical techniques. Cleaning operations ended on 18 November.
Impact
77 birds were found dead and a large number were oiled. Murrelets,
razorbills and cormorants were particularly affected. However, many
were only slightly contaminated and some cleaned themselves by preening.
Name: Olympic Alliance
Date: 12 November 1975
Location: England
Accident area: Dover Strait
Cause of spill: collision
Quantity transported: 216,000 tonnes
Type of pollutant: Iranian light crude oil
Quantity spilled: 10,000 tonnes
Ship type: oil tanker
Date built: 1970
Shipyard: Japan
Length: 324.43 m
Width: 48.25 m
Draught: 24.99 m
Flag: Liberian
Owner: Vinke & Co
P&I Club: West of England Ship Owners Mutual Protection and Indemnity Association
Compensation
The shipowner and the master were liable for all the cleaning operations
resulting from the incident. The shipowner was a member of ITOPF
(International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation), and the TOVALOP
(Tanker Owners Voluntary Agreement concerning Liability for Oil
Pollution) insurance system was used for the compensation.
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, 1975-1979, Réf. 26 714, Janvier 1979
- Department of Trade, Accidents at Sea Causing Oil Pollution, Review of Contingency Measures, London, 1978
- Rijkswaterstaat - Directie Noordzee, "Olympic Alliance"
oil spillage, november 1975, NZ-R-77-00
Last update: April 2006