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Corinthos SpillCorinthos SpillDelaware River, Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania 01/31/75 Incident Summary At approximately 0030, on January 31, 1975, Corinthos was rammed as the Edgar M. Queeny maneuvered away from its dock. The Corinthos was in the process of offloading 315,000 barrels of Algerian crude oil at the British Petroleum terminal at Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania. The resulting explosion and fire reportedly shot flames 400-500 feet up into the air. The Corinthos ' hull split and sank, while continuing to smolder until February 6. The Edgar M. Queeny was carrying phenol, vinyl acetate, and paraffin at the time of the incident. Approximately 2,000 barrels of paraffin were released as a result of the impact. Twenty six of the forty-four people aboard the Corinthos lost their lives as a result of the collision, explosion, and fire. Although the Edgar M. Queeny also caught fire, no fatalities were reported on that vessel. Coast Guard personnel monitored the fire and pollution, controlled traffic and patrolled the security zone during the response. Pollution contractors were on scene within seventy-seven minutes of notification. Response personnel began booming creeks and wildlife areas immediately. Oiled waterfowl were taken to a cleaning facility at a New Jersey Armory. The Regional Response Team (RRT) was activated from January 31 through February 5. Coast Guard personnel from Marine Safety Office Philadelphia and the Atlantic Strike Team (AST) responded to the spill. Other response agencies included the Philadelphia City Fire Department, the U.S. Army, and the U.S. Navy. During 1976, the two sections of the sunken Corinthos were raised and towed to Camden, New Jersey to be scrapped. Behavior of Oil Algerian crude oil has an API gravity of 44 to 45.5, and a viscosity of 2.2 centistokes. Burning crude oil covered a 10 mile stretch of the Delaware River following the incident. Heavy, asphalt-like residue adhered to the shorelines along the river. On February 6, a boarding party reported large amounts of burnt oil residue on the stern deck plates. Two to three inches of oil on water were reported in a survey of accessible spaces and hatches on the Corinthos . Countermeasures and Mitigation Asphalt-like residue on the shoreline of the Delaware River was manually removed with shovels. Booms were placed at the entrances of Carby, Old Man's, and Raccoon Creeks. Floating boom deployed around the vessel created a security zone. Within seventy-seven minutes of notification cleanup personnel began deploying directional boom at Elinsboro Point, New Jersey in an effort to trap free-floating oil. Since phenol, gasoline, and vinyl acetate monomer were involved in the fire, explosion meter readings and oxygen levels were monitored to assure a safe working atmosphere for responders. Other Special Interest Issues During this time of year, about 4,000 birds use the area of the Delaware River where the incident occurred. A cleaning facility at the New Jersey Armory had treated 370 oiled birds as of February 10. References This content has been excerped from: Oil Spill Case Histories 1967-1991: Summaries of Significant U.S. and International Spills |
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