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Odyssey Oil Spill

The Odyssey oil tanker sank on November 10, 1988, after an explosion, resulting in one of the largest oil spills in history, releasing 132,157 tons of oil into the North Atlantic. The ship was caught in a severe storm and sent a distress signal before breaking apart and sinking 700 nautical miles off Nova Scotia, leading to the presumed deaths of all 27 crew members. Although a portion of the oil burned off, the spill had significant ecological impacts, particularly on local krill populations.

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137 views2 pages

Odyssey Oil Spill

The Odyssey oil tanker sank on November 10, 1988, after an explosion, resulting in one of the largest oil spills in history, releasing 132,157 tons of oil into the North Atlantic. The ship was caught in a severe storm and sent a distress signal before breaking apart and sinking 700 nautical miles off Nova Scotia, leading to the presumed deaths of all 27 crew members. Although a portion of the oil burned off, the spill had significant ecological impacts, particularly on local krill populations.

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omkarerande2022.it
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Name :- Ajinkya Santosh Erande

Roll no :- PA34
Sub :- HSE
Odyssey Oil Spill - Summary

Odyssey, which previously went by the name Oriental Phoenix, was an oil
tanker in operation from 1971 to November 10, 1988, when an explosion caused
it to sink in the North Atlantic off the coast of Canada. The resulting spill
remains one of the largest oil spills in world history. The tanker was 700
nautical miles (1,300 km; 810 mi) off the coast of the Canadian province of
Nova Scotia when it sank and released 132,157 tons (43 million gallons) of oil
into the ocean.By way of comparison, 4.3 times as much oil was spilled by the
Odyssey as from the much more famous Exxon Valdez.
Odyssey, built in 1971, was a 65,000-ton tanker operated by Polembros
Shipping Ltd. of London, England, and registered in Liberia. On November 5,
1988, the tanker departed Sullom Voe Terminal in the Shetland Islands off
Scotland, fully loaded with North Sea Brent Crude oil which was being
transported to the Come By Chance Refinery at Come-by-Chance,
Newfoundland and Labrador. When the ship was about 1000 nautical miles off
the coast of Newfoundland, a major North Atlantic storm arose, buffeting the
ship with 25-foot (7.6 m) waves and 44-mile-per-hour winds. In response, the
ship sent out a distress signal and kept heading for shore. The distress call was
received by Radio Valentia in Ireland and transferred to the Canadian Rescue
Coordination Centre. The centre alerted the vessels in the area. However, when
the ship was 700 nautical miles (1,300 km) off the coast of Nova Scotia, an
explosion occurred on board, causing the ship to break into two and begin
sinking. As the ship sank, a fire broke out on its stern section, causing the oil on
board to catch fire. A Russian weather ship, Passat, responded to the Odyssey's
distress call and was on site in less than an hour. Once on site however, it was
unable to approach the vessel as it was surrounded by ignited oil slicks. All 27
crew members, 15 Greeks and 12 Hondurans, are presumed to have died during
the incident. Because of hazardous weather conditions, the Canadian Coast
Guard could not immediately reach the spill and much of the oil burned up
before the coast guard reached the ship.
In the immediate aftermath of the ship's sinking, the oil spill covered an area of
3 miles (4.8 km) x 10 miles (16 km). A much reduced amount of oil reached
shore - in part because of the oil's rapid combustion from the initial explosion
and in part because currents carried the spill across the Atlantic, in the direction
of England, giving the oil a significant amount of time to dissipate in the rough
seas. Because of this, no clean-up operation was mounted. The Advisory
Committee on Marine Pollution of the Sea of the International Council for the
Exploration of the Sea published an analysis of the spill in their 1990 Marine
Pollution Yearbook which noted that the spill likely had a significant effect on
krill in the area, and through them, may have affected animals further up the
food chain.

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