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World Glory SpillWorld Glory Spill65 miles ENE of Durban, South Africa 06/13/68 Incident Summary At 1500 on June 13, 1968, the World Glory, bound for Huelva, Spain, broke up approximately 65 miles ENE of Durban, South Africa. At the time of the incident the weather consisted of southwesterly gale force winds, overcast skies, heavy swells, and poor visibility. Only ten of the 34 crew members survived the accident. The stern section of the vessel sank after about two hours, while the bow section drifted southwest with the Agulhas Current. The bow was presumed to sink at 30 06 S, 031 54 E, approximately 40 miles from the initial breakup. All the ship's cargo, 334,043 barrels of Kuwait crude oil, eventually spilled into the Indian Ocean. The response was led by the Port Captain of Durban. Since the economy of Natal, South Africa, depended on the upcoming winter tourist season, the primary response goal was to keep the oil from impacting the mainly recreational shoreline. Dispersant operations were organized by personnel from the Department of Fisheries and the Department of Industries. Other parties involved in the response include the Department of Transportation, South African Defense Force, the Durban Corporation, the Oceanographic Research Institute, the Natal Anti-Shark Measures Board, and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. Wildlife impacts were minimal. Duration of response was approximately 20 days with an estimated cost of $420,000. Behavior of Oil Kuwait Export crude oil has an API gravity of 31.4, and a pour point of 0 degrees F. On June 17, a 60-mile by 1-mile slick came within two miles of the coast. Thin films of oil were also spotted immediately behind the breaker zone. At this time, authorities predicted the slick would reach the St. Lucia Game Reserve. By June 21, the oil was observed in varying amounts from the Tugela River in the north to Port Shepstone in the south and out to 100 miles offshore. Approximately 150 miles of mostly recreational beaches were threatened. On June 23, the slick was observed four miles off Durban Bluff. The two halves of the ship were still leaking oil in their positions 47 and 65 miles from Durban. Although dispersants had effectively broken up the slick off Durban Bluff by June 24, a 10-mile by 6-mile slick off the Umhlali River was still posing a threat to the shoreline. Light films of oil were reported near the bluff separating Brighton Beach and the Durban Whaling Station on June 25. No confirmed reports of oil impacting the shore had been received. Countermeasures and Mitigation Fly ash residue from burnt coal was applied in an attempt to soak up oil and settle it on the bottom. Aerial dispersant spraying operations began on June 16. Aerial surveys were performed before dispersant application to create grid surveys plotting the extent of the spill and inshore reconnaissance surveys to track the inner edge of the slick. These surveys identified the areas that were most severely threatened. Initially, non-toxic dispersants were applied between Tongaat and Scottburgh with three crop spraying planes. Although the aircraft provided speed and flexibility, their usefulness was limited due to the large amount of dispersant that needed to be applied and high winds in the area. The aircraft were most useful in applying dispersants to oil behind the breaker zone where ships could not operate. Due to the growing threat of shoreline pollution, the South African Navy, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, and the Oceanographic Research Institute provided four vessels for dispersant operations. After pumps, spraying equipment, and engines were quickly assembled, these vessels started applying dispersants on June 19. Several additional vessels were chartered as well. The larger vessels were fitted with 500-gallon farm tanks so they would not need to replenish supplies as often. At the height of operations, twelve ships were applying up to 20,000 gallons of non-ionic detergents per day. Dispersant operations were completed by July 2. Other Special Interest Issues Southwesterly gale-force winds, overcast skies, 50-70 foot waves, and poor visibility most likely led to the breakup. Winds during the response were primarily moderate to strong south to southwesterly with intermittent calms. While the winds hampered some of the aircraft dispersing ability, favorable currents helped the vessel dispersing operations. 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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