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Athenian Venture Spill

Athenian Venture Spill
Canada, southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland
04/22/88
Incident Summary
Early on April 22, 1988, the tanker Athenian Venture was found by the Canadian research vessel Hudson 400 miles southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland. The Athenian Venture had apparently experienced a violent explosion as it was broken in two and on fire. The Athenian Venture had been en route from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to New York, New York, with a cargo of approximately 250,000 barrels of unleaded gasoline on board. The vessel was drifting at 40 38 N, 051 09 W, and the bow and aft sections were approximately two miles apart when found. The bow section sank at 1400 on April 22. The aft section continued to drift on fire for the next 7 weeks, finally sinking on June 17 about 200 miles from the Azores.

Behavior of Oil
Automotive gasoline is a very light weight, refined product with an API gravity of 60 to 63. Overflights on April 22 discovered a slick .5 by 4 miles. However, most of the gasoline burned in the extensive fires. The remaining oil dissipated very rapidly, most of which was lost to evaporation. Weather conditions immediately following the accident were good, with high visibility and calm seas.

Countermeasures and Mitigation
No countermeasures were undertaken.

Other Special Interest Issues
The USCG coordinated rescue efforts with the Canadian Coast Guard. Five airplanes and seven merchant vessels participated in the two-day search for survivors. The Athenian Venture had a crew of 24, and the wives of 5 crew members were also on board. Initially it appeared that one of the lifeboats was missing from the vessel, but later it was found that all the lifeboats had burned. No survivors were ever found, and all 29 people were presumed dead.

References
  • 8/9/91 & 8/28/91 Letters from Daniel Owen at ITOPF
  • Genwest Systems, Inc. communications with ITOPF representatives.
  • MMS Worldwide Tanker Spill Database
  • OSIR Newsletter 5/02/88
  • OSIR Newsletter 2/21/91
  • OSIR Oil Spills, International Summary & Review, 1986-1988
  • Tanker Advisory Center, Inc. 1991 Guide for the Selection of Tankers. T.A.C. Inc. 1991.

    This content has been excerped from:

    Oil Spill Case Histories 1967-1991: Summaries of Significant U.S. and International Spills
    From NOAA / Hazardous Materials Response and Assessment Division
    Seattle, Washington
    September 1992



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