Tanker wrecks around the South African coast

[dave moore]

Sone time ago I read a book ,title Supertanker,in it describes many tankers being wrecked ,the reasons were varied.Today this does not be the case why ?

[cappy]

Sone time ago I read a book ,title Supertanker,in it describes many tankers being wrecked ,the reasons were varied.Today this does not be the case why ?

###well some were certainly insurance jobs .....one off the cape where the cargo had been sold elsewhere .....then the vessel scuttled and the claim for cargo expected....it was stated i believe the ship blew up ...but the crew were all sitting in the lifeboat with there suitcases when picked up .....there was also the case of aluminium anodes held in place by steel bolts which rusted..... as they fell into empty tanks the gas blew....in the british defender we were trying a new poliyamide paint in the tanks to stop sparks .....but it all peeled off and we spent a long time in londoni think it was as the stuff fouled all the pumps and had to be taken out by hand ......cappy

[Captain Kong]

When a lot of tankers broke down off the Cape they drifted ashore and big pollution.
So tankers are now kept a minimum of 15 miles south of the Cape, giving the tugs time to get out there to tow them to a safe place.
When I was flying with Court Helicopters, we had to rescue 28 crew members of the AROSA STAR that ran aground off Hangklyp
We went back a few days later when the weather improved and took of the refridgerator for our mess room at Green Point.
The following year after I left, two giant tankers collided off the Cape, one fully loaded 350,000 tons, they flew out with a lawyer and claimed it as Salvage after it had been abandoned. they made themselves very rich. I missed out on that one.
Brian

[Lewis McColl]

Would this be the two Brian, same company Venoil and the Venpet. https://youtu.be/M2xEynsGEm8

[Captain Kong]

Yes,
one in ballast and one fully loaded.

[Lewis McColl]

I think the scenario if my memory is good!!! It was a case of lets have a look at the new build she and they closed to each other for a better view and !!!!! well bang. Maybe wrong but I would have thought a fully laden VLCC would have sucked a VLCC in ballast at close quarters in like a kid sucking a lolly pop, Inter action ?

[John Arton]

They were on reciprocal courses in fog when they collided. There was talk at the time that the owners set the courses the vessels were to follow and there masters were reluctant to deviate from the set route which was to be used west or east bound but the official reason was poor radar watch assuming that the 1 mile? CPA was o.k.
Both vessels survived and were repaired but one of them was hit by an Exocet missile during the Iraq / Iran war.
Rgds
J.A.

[Graham Shaw]

They were on reciprocal courses in fog when they collided. There was talk at the time that the owners set the courses the vessels were to follow and there masters were reluctant to deviate from the set route which was to be used west or east bound but the official reason was poor radar watch assuming that the 1 mile? CPA was o.k.
Both vessels survived and were repaired but one of them was hit by an Exocet missile during the Iraq / Iran war.
Rgds
J.A.

Further details :
The official enquiry conducted at the request of the Commissioner of Maritime Affairs for Liberia,reported that the collision resulted from the fact that neither vessel was using their radar equipment properly,as John says.
It added that the northbound Venpet in ballast,had breached rules that vessels meeting head on should alter course to starboard ,and that a ship detecting another on her radar in restricted visibility should take avoiding action. Other factors included the unfamiliarity of both masters with VLCC's ,the burden of clerical work on them and the crowded sea lanes in the area off the coast of South Africa.No specific action was taken against either master but it was recommended that both should be required to pass radar simulation courses before being allowed to return to sea again.It was also recommended that the third mates of each vessel should have their licences suspended for a period and that both should undergo radar courses. We British had been doing compulsory radar observation and simulator courses for at least a decade !
The laden southbound Venoil's crew of 38 were picked off the bow by a Court Line helicopter or picked up from a lifeboat by the British cargo vessel Clan Menzies.Two crew members ,the cook and a firemen had refused to leave the tanker vessel shouting it was too dangerous and perished.
The 42 crew of Venpet were brought into port by the P and O O.B.O. Jedforest.


Venoil,after repair and sale lasted another 7 years being broken up during the tanker recession in 1984 in South Korea.
Venpet,repaired,sold and renamed Alexander the Great was hit by an Iraqi Exocet missile in June 84 at Kharg Island,causing her sale and demolition in Taiwan six months later.
Re the collision, each VLCC carried a machinery and hull insurance of £15.38 million , about 60% of which was placed on the London markets,and the Venpet's huge oil cargo was insured for £16.48 million.

[dave moore]

I understand that many suffered tank explosions,you old salts any info on these.

[Captain Kong]

I had a letter from Fritz, our Co-Pilot on Court Helicopters, in Cape Town describing their actions during the rescue and salvage, this was 40 years ago, and unfortunately, cannot find it now, Fritz was Killed just after when the Helicopter crashed again.
Brian