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A single-hull very large crude carrier which had been loaded with approximately 1,263,000 barrels of Prudhoe Bay crude oil ran aground on Bligh Reef, a well-known navigational hazard. The vessel was under navigational control of the Third Mate at the time of the incident. The grounding ruptured 8 cargo tanks, spilling around 258,000 barrels of oil into the sea. At the time, this was the largest single oil spill in US waters. There were no injuries but there was catastrophic damage to the environment. The oil spill killed an estimate 250,000 sea birds, 3,000 otters, 300 seals, 250 bald eagles and 22 killer whales. Fishing in oil-polluted waters was prohibited so many villages in the area, which were heavily dependent on salmon and herring fishing, faced financial ruin.
Ask yourself and your crew:
- How can something like this happen here (e.g. on our site)?
- What safety measures (i.e. procedures, controls/barriers) do we have in place to mitigate the risk?
- How do we know the risk controls/barriers are working?
- What improvements or changes should we make to the procedures, controls/barriers or the way we work?
Original content courtesy of IChemE Safety Centre
