Texaco Caribbean
On
11 January 1971, the Panamanian tanker the Texaco Caribbean was
on a ballast voyage from the Netherlands to Trinidad when she was
struck by the 12,000-tonne Peruvian freighter the Paracas in thick
fog. The latter ignored the shipping lanes of Dover Straits and
took the shorter way along the English coast. The Texaco Caribbean
exploded, split in two and sank, releasing 600 tonnes of bunker
and ballast. 8 sailors lost their lives in the incident and 22 were
rescued.
The Paracas was sailing from Peru to Hamburg with a cargo of fishmeal
and fishoil. She was also seriously damaged in the incident. The
salvage tug the Heros towed her to Hamburg where they arrived on
14 January.
The British coastal authorities placed 3 vertical green lights on
site to warn other ships of the presence of the wreck. However,
the following day the West German freighter Brandenburg hit the
Texaco Caribbean and sank a few minutes later. Lifeboats did not
have the time to arrive. Only 11 out of 32 crew members were rescued
by local fishing boats. The bodies of 7 crew members were found
and 14 remained missing.
A light ship and 5 light buoys were added on site but on 27 February,
the Greek vessel the Nikki, sailing from Dunkirk to Alexandria,
ignored the warnings and collided with the submerged wrecks. The
tanker the Hebris was in the area at the same time. The crew saw
the Nikki sinking and sent radio messages. The Hebris came closer
as people were seen at sea but when she arrived on site there was
nobody left. The Nikki went down with her entire crew.
The 3 wrecks represented a serious hazard for passing ships. A second
lightship and about 10 more buoys were added. However within 2 months,
British coastal authorities reported 16 ships for having ignored
the lightships and buoys. Luckily, there were no further incidents.
The company Risdon Beazley Ulrich Harms Ltd from Southampton was
contacted to remove the wrecks of the Texaco Caribbean, the Brandenburg
and the Nikki. The operation lasted 18 months. During that time
the area was signalled by 2 lightships and 14 lighted buoys.
Name: Texaco Caribbean
Date: 11 January 1971
Location: Channel
Accident area: 13 km from Dover Strait
Cause of spill: collision
Type of pollutant: bunker fuel oil
Quantity spilled: 600 tonnes
Ship type: tanker
Date built: 1965
Shipyard: Kieler Howaldtswerke AG, Kiel
Length: 175 m
Width: 23.8 m
Draught: 12.5 m
Flag: Panamanian
Owner: Texaco Panama Inc.
Sources:
- HOOKE, Norman, 1997, Maritime Casualties 1963-1996, second edition, LLP Limited, Londres
- IFP, Banques de données sur les accidents de navire ayant provoqué un déversement de pétrole en mer supérieur à 500 tonnes, 1970-1974, Réf. 26 704, Janvier 1979
- Department of Trade, Accidents at Sea Causing Oil Pollution, Review of Contingency Measures, London, 1978
Last update: April 2006