MV Treasure oil spill
| MV Treasure oil spill | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°40.30′S 18°19.90′E / 33.67167°S 18.33167°E |
| Date | June 23, 2000 |
| Cause | ship was damaged in storms and subsequently sank |
| Casualties | 0 |
| Volume | 400–1000 tonnes (3000–7000 barrels) |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name: |
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| Owner: |
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| Builder: | Mitsubishi Dockyard & Engineering Works, Nagasaki |
| Yard number: | 1878 |
| Launched: | 1982 |
| Completed: | 1983 |
| Identification: | IMO number: 8011251 |
| Fate: | sank on June 23, 2000 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | bulk ore carrier |
| Tonnage: | 66,413 GT |
| Length: | 264.3 metres (867 ft) |
| Beam: | 43.5 metres (143 ft) |
| Draft: | 17.4 metres (57 ft) |
| Propulsion: | 1 diesel engine (Sulzer 6-cylinder), single shaft, 1 screw |
| Speed: | 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
The MV Treasure oil spill occurred on 23 June 2000, when the ship sank six miles off the coast of South Africa while transporting iron ore from China to Brazil. The ship was carrying an estimated 1,300 tons of fuel oil, some of which spilled into the ocean, threatening the African penguin populations living on nearby islands. Cleanup efforts began promptly after the incident with particular attention being paid to salvaging the African penguin communities.
MV Treasure was a Panamanian-registered cargo ship. The 17-year-old ship was transporting a load of 140,000 tonnes (140,000 long tons; 150,000 short tons) of iron ore from China to Brazil at the time of the incident. The Weekend Argus newspaper quoted unnamed sources as saying the ship was owned by Universal Pearls, which it claimed to be the same Chinese shipping company that owned the Apollo Sea (which sank off Cape Town's coast in 1994 and caused extensive environmental damage).
Treasure sank on 23 June 2000. She went down 6 mi (9.7 km) off the coast of South Africa, between Robben Island and Dassen Island after developing a hole in her hull. However, the hole was not the immediate cause of the sinking. Authorities wanted to tow the ship into the South African harbor for repair, but she was too large for the maneuver and was ordered farther off-shore in an attempt to reduce environmental damage from oil pollution. The ship sank while under tow in rough seas when the tow ropes ripped loose. The ship then drifted eastward and subsequently sank. The ship's crew were airlifted to safety.
Treasure was estimated to have been carrying 1,300 tons of bunker oil of which 400 tons, approximately 2,680 barrels, spilled into the sea off the coast. The pear-shaped slick, about 3 by 4 nautical miles (5.6 km × 7.4 km; 3.5 mi × 4.6 mi) in area, was spotted around noon by Kuswag VII, the Department of Environmental Affairs' oil pollution patrol aircraft. The oil spilled was the ship's own fuel oil, which was of the heaviest and most viscous commercial fuel that can be obtained from petroleum. Bunker oil, also known as fuel oil, is what remains after the lighter fractions (gasoline, kerosene, diesel, etc.) are removed by distillation. The heaviest materials in crude petroleum are not distilled, as their boiling points are too high to be conveniently recovered. As a result, bunker oil is usually very dark in color, more dense, and a significantly more serious contaminant than less-dense oils.
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Wikipedia