Urquiola
The incident
On
12 May 1976, the oil tanker the Urquiola hit a shoal which was not
listed on the charts, at La Coruña’s harbour entrance,
and damaged her hull. The
vessel threatened to explode and was therefore towed away from the
port, with only the commanding officer remaining onboard.
Two hours later, the ship exploded and the commanding officer was
killed.
An estimated 101,000 tonnes of crude oil (513,000 barrels)
burned for 16 hours. Nearly 200 km of coasts were affected and black
smoke spread over 100 km inland. A thick black cloud moved towards
the Spanish town of La Coruña and was a threat to people
with ill health. Monitoring of the air quality detected high levels
of volatile gases.
Despite
the precautions taken, a second explosion, followed by a fire, took
place on the morning of 14 May. The high winds the following days
caused the slicks to drift and wash up on the coast.
Response
Response teams set up a boom to contain the oil. Dispersants were spread
by tugs and helicopters.
Considerable
means were implemented: recrutement of a workforce, arrival of skimmers
and dispersants and the local inhabitants were called upon to help
out. The clean-up operations proved to be slow and painstaking.
Large
stretches of sand were treated, with a risk of creating an imbalance
in the biodiversity present. The pollution was treated both mechanically
and manually. The use of chemical dispersants was soon abandonned
as it promoted the infiltration of the oil into the sediments. Clean-up
operations were very slow as the oil was very heavy. A large part
of clean-up could only be carried out using buckets and spades.
Impact
It was estimated that 70% of the clams in Rio de Burgo bay were
killed by deposits of oil. The same goes for mussels and oysters.
Flora and fauna in the affected area took several years to regain
normal growth patterns (damages estimated at 2.25 million Euros).
The Spanish government was held liable for the incident. The response
expenses and economic losses were estimated at 70 million Euros.
Name: Urquiola
Date: 12 May 1976
Location: Spain
Accident area: entrance to La Coruña harbour
Cause of spill: grounding
Quantity transported: 101,000 tonnes
Type of pollutant: Kuwait crude oil
Quantity spilled: 101,000 tonnes
Ship type: oil tanker
Date built: 1973
Length: 276.54 m
Width: 39.07 m
Flag: Spanish
Links
Last update: May 2011