device was stuck in the well and impaired the flow of oil. The crew tried to alleviate
the damage, and to safeguard the well they pumped barytic sludge into the well, then
set a blowout preventer on the hole. Unfortunately, it was put on incorrectly and not
tightened securely. A mixture of sludge, oil, and gas shot out of the well 20 m above
sea level at a temperature of 75°-90°C and formed a 30-m-high geyser. A specialist
from Texas was successful in capping it on the flfth attempt and on the morning of
April 30, the danger was past. If this operation had not succeeded, an off-center hole
would have had to be drilled in order to alleviate the pressure.
During those 8 days, about 13,000 t of oil and 19,000 t of gas escaped. Only 750 t
of oil could be removed from the sea surface with mechanical tools. Chemicals to
disperse the oil were quickly available, enough for 4000 t of oil within 36 h, however
dispersants were not used. There was no continuous oil slick on the sea surface, but
smaller patches which developed quickly into water-inoOil emulsions with 71 % water,
The emulsion disintegrated one day later, 32 km away from the site of the accident.
Oil was visible, at least as a fllm, over an area of 3000 km 2 • It started to drift in
easterly direction, then went 120 km to the north, until a northerly wind drove the
oil nearly back to the "Bravo"-platform. Estimates are 100 t of oil left at the sea
surface after 45 days, drifting about 120 km south of "Bravo". The oil disappeared
in mid June in southwesterly direction and has not been observed since then. Drift
charts thrown into the sea at the site of the accident were washed up after 100 days
on Dutch and German shores, but no oil.
No damage to marine life has been reported. Fortunately, there were not many sea
birds in the area and the mackerel, whose eggs float right under the surface, had not
yet spawned (Bourne 1977; Auduson 1978; Mackie et al. 1978).
On March 16, 1978, a hydraulic pipe in the steering engine of the 233,000 t tanker
"Amoco Cadiz" from Liberia broke, and the ship was out of steering control 25 nautical miles off Britanny, France. If the captain had asked for assistance, nothing
serious would have happened, because the tugboat "Simson" was only a few hours
away. But much time was wasted with phone calls between the captain and his company in Chicago, before the German salvage tug boat "Pacific" was contracted. She
was not strong enough to tow the supertanker in a Beaufort 9 gale. The vessel ran
aground 1.5 nautical miles away from the small fishing village Portsall (Fig. 46). The
"Amoco Cadiz" contained 223,000 t of light crude oil (30%-35% aromatic compounds), and 4000 t of bunker fuel. Within 11 days after the wreckage about 90% of the
oil was lost in the sea, because all attempts to unload the cargo failed. The vessel broke
and was bombed at the beginning of April in order to release the rest of the oil.
Estimates are that 40% of the oil evaporated (90,000 t). Onshore winds brought the
smell of oil to large areas of Britanny, and not only the men fighting the oil, but
people further inland complained of dizziness, headaches, and nausea. Birds flew
away. During the days of the oil accident, westerly winds prevailed and transported
the brownish water-inoOil emulsion, the "chocolate mousse", toward the shores.
Estimates are that 80,000 t of oil landed at the shore. Later, southerly winds drove
the oil toward the Channel Islands. Chemical dispersants, mostly BP 1l00, were
sprayed onto the oil from 6 British vessels (750 t of dispersants) and from 30 French
vessels (1300 t of dispersants). Mechanical devices to collect the oil from the sea surface had only limited success (Spooner 1978).
86
the damage, and to safeguard the well they pumped barytic sludge into the well, then
set a blowout preventer on the hole. Unfortunately, it was put on incorrectly and not
tightened securely. A mixture of sludge, oil, and gas shot out of the well 20 m above
sea level at a temperature of 75°-90°C and formed a 30-m-high geyser. A specialist
from Texas was successful in capping it on the flfth attempt and on the morning of
April 30, the danger was past. If this operation had not succeeded, an off-center hole
would have had to be drilled in order to alleviate the pressure.
During those 8 days, about 13,000 t of oil and 19,000 t of gas escaped. Only 750 t
of oil could be removed from the sea surface with mechanical tools. Chemicals to
disperse the oil were quickly available, enough for 4000 t of oil within 36 h, however
dispersants were not used. There was no continuous oil slick on the sea surface, but
smaller patches which developed quickly into water-inoOil emulsions with 71 % water,
The emulsion disintegrated one day later, 32 km away from the site of the accident.
Oil was visible, at least as a fllm, over an area of 3000 km 2 • It started to drift in
easterly direction, then went 120 km to the north, until a northerly wind drove the
oil nearly back to the "Bravo"-platform. Estimates are 100 t of oil left at the sea
surface after 45 days, drifting about 120 km south of "Bravo". The oil disappeared
in mid June in southwesterly direction and has not been observed since then. Drift
charts thrown into the sea at the site of the accident were washed up after 100 days
on Dutch and German shores, but no oil.
No damage to marine life has been reported. Fortunately, there were not many sea
birds in the area and the mackerel, whose eggs float right under the surface, had not
yet spawned (Bourne 1977; Auduson 1978; Mackie et al. 1978).
On March 16, 1978, a hydraulic pipe in the steering engine of the 233,000 t tanker
"Amoco Cadiz" from Liberia broke, and the ship was out of steering control 25 nautical miles off Britanny, France. If the captain had asked for assistance, nothing
serious would have happened, because the tugboat "Simson" was only a few hours
away. But much time was wasted with phone calls between the captain and his company in Chicago, before the German salvage tug boat "Pacific" was contracted. She
was not strong enough to tow the supertanker in a Beaufort 9 gale. The vessel ran
aground 1.5 nautical miles away from the small fishing village Portsall (Fig. 46). The
"Amoco Cadiz" contained 223,000 t of light crude oil (30%-35% aromatic compounds), and 4000 t of bunker fuel. Within 11 days after the wreckage about 90% of the
oil was lost in the sea, because all attempts to unload the cargo failed. The vessel broke
and was bombed at the beginning of April in order to release the rest of the oil.
Estimates are that 40% of the oil evaporated (90,000 t). Onshore winds brought the
smell of oil to large areas of Britanny, and not only the men fighting the oil, but
people further inland complained of dizziness, headaches, and nausea. Birds flew
away. During the days of the oil accident, westerly winds prevailed and transported
the brownish water-inoOil emulsion, the "chocolate mousse", toward the shores.
Estimates are that 80,000 t of oil landed at the shore. Later, southerly winds drove
the oil toward the Channel Islands. Chemical dispersants, mostly BP 1l00, were
sprayed onto the oil from 6 British vessels (750 t of dispersants) and from 30 French
vessels (1300 t of dispersants). Mechanical devices to collect the oil from the sea surface had only limited success (Spooner 1978).
86