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Betelgeuse incident

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Air & Sea transport

   Sketch map of the Bantry area. For full chart, see
   Enlarge
   Sketch map of the Bantry area. For full chart, see

   The Betelgeuse incident, also known as the Betelgeuse or Whiddy Island
   disaster, occurred on 8 January 1979, at around 1 a.m., when the oil
   tanker Betelgeuse exploded in Ireland at the offshore jetty of the
   Whiddy Island Oil Terminal due to the failure of the ship's structure
   during an operation to discharge its cargo of oil. The tanker was owned
   by Total S.A. and the oil terminal was owned and operated by Gulf Oil.

   The explosion and resulting fire claimed the lives of 50 people (42
   French nationals, 7 Irish nationals and 1 English national). Only 27
   bodies were recovered. A further fatality occurred during the salvage
   operation with the loss of a Dutch diver.

Background

   sketch map of Ireland, showing position of Bantry Bay
   Enlarge
   sketch map of Ireland, showing position of Bantry Bay

   During the 1960s, developments in the pattern of oil transportation
   indicated that it would soon become most economic to move oil between
   the Middle East and Europe using Ultra Large Crude Carrier vessels.
   These vessels were so large that they would not be able to enter most
   of the older ports on the Atlantic Ocean, North Sea and English Channel
   coasts.

   Accordingly, it was judged appropriate to build a new oil terminal in
   Europe capable of handling the largest vessels that were planned. The
   intention was that oil coming from the Middle East would be off-loaded
   at this terminal and then stored for transshipment to European
   refineries using smaller vessels. The closure of the Suez Canal in 1967
   as a result of the Six-Day War reinforced the viability of this scheme.
   Oil shipments had to come round the Cape of Good Hope, thus avoiding
   the vessel size constraints previously imposed by the canal.

   In 1966, the Gulf Oil Corporation identified Whiddy Island in Bantry
   Bay, Ireland, as being the most suitable site for the new terminal.
   Whiddy Island offered a long, sheltered deep-water anchorage.
   Furthermore, it was well away from any major population centres and
   shipping lanes. Construction started in 1967 and the terminal was
   completed in 1969.

   The onshore facility included a 'tank farm' consisting of two tanks for
   ballast, two for bunker fuel oil, one for diesel oil and twelve crude
   oil storage tanks, each capable of holding 81,280 tonnes, bringing the
   total capacity to approximately 1.3 million tonnes of oil. The offshore
   facility was comprised of an island type berth (known colloquially as
   the 'jetty') 488 metres (1,600 ft) in length, approximately 396 metres
   (1,300 ft) from the onshore facility.

   The construction and operation of the terminal transformed the economy
   of the Bantry area. In 1968 the tanker Universe Ireland went into
   service for Gulf. At 312,000 dwt this was the largest ship in the
   world. It was intended to use this vessel mainly to move oil between
   Kuwait and Whiddy Island. It was the first of six such tankers planned
   for use by the company.

   The terminal was very successful for the first five years of operation,
   but then events began to move against it. The Suez Canal reopened and
   the economics of ULCCs began to appear less satisfactory than had
   originally been anticipated. Shipping goods in the form of infrequent
   but very large loads involves engaging more idle capital in the form of
   stock than the alternatives. Also, the process of transshipment is
   costly. The whole economic basis of the Whiddy terminal was
   incompatible with the ' just-in-time' approach to industrial management
   which was being widely adopted at the time. That apart, the late 1970s
   saw a levelling-off in demand for oil as the result of both economic
   recession and a rise in the price of oil. All these circumstances
   caused a fall in the utilisation of the terminal to a level below that
   which had been planned for. Thus, by the late 1970s, the local Gulf
   operating company (Gulf Oil Terminals (Ireland) Ltd) was struggling to
   maintain the viability of the terminal. The company had been forced to
   undertake a number of cost saving measures.

The incident

   On 24 November 1978, the Betelgeuse left Ras Tanura in the Persian Gulf
   bound for Leixoes, Portugal with a full cargo of crude oil. Built in
   1968, by Chantiers de l'Atlantique, in Saint-Nazaire, France, the
   121,432 dwt vessel was registered by Total S.A. at Le Havre, France.

   Originally the Betelgeuse was to call at Sines, Portugal, to lighten
   ship, but poor weather conditions prevented the vessel from entering
   the harbour. Plans were further frustrated at Leixoes, where a ship had
   grounded across the entrance to the harbour, preventing the Betelgeuse
   from berthing there to discharge her cargo. The Betelgeuse was then
   instructed to sail to Whiddy Island, Ireland.

   The Betelgeuse first put in at Vigo, Spain to change some of her crew,
   and then sailed for Whiddy Island on 30 December 1978. During the
   passage the vessel encountered heavy weather in the Bay of Biscay and
   after reporting a leakage of oil was instructed to head towards Brest,
   France at reduced speed. However, the origin of the leak was discovered
   and stopped. The vessel proceeded on its original planned course,
   arriving in Bantry Bay on 4 January 1979.

   By 8 p.m. on 6 January 1979, the Betelgeuse had completed berthing at
   the offshore jetty. At 11:30 p.m. the same day, the vessel commenced
   discharging its 114,000 tonnes of mixed Arabian crude oil, which was
   expected to take about 36 hours. A number of the crew went ashore while
   this was in progress and the wife of one of the officers joined her
   husband on the vessel.

   At about 1 a.m. (evidence on the precise time conflicts) on Monday, 8
   January, a rumbling/cracking noise was heard from the vessel, followed
   shortly by a huge explosion within its hull. The force of the explosion
   was seen to blow men from the jetty into the sea. Local residents
   reported seeing the Betelgeuse engulfed in a ball of fire a few moments
   later. A series of further explosions followed which broke the vessel
   in half. Much of the oil cargo still on board ignited and this
   generated temperatures estimated to exceed 1,000 °C. The concrete
   unloading jetty crumbled and firefighters, arriving on the scene from
   several neighbouring towns, were unable to get near the vessel. The
   firefighters concentrated their efforts on preventing the fire from
   spreading to the tanks of the storage farm and containing the oil
   spillage. Local families living on the island fled for their lives.

   After a few hours the Betelgeuse sank at her moorings in 30 metres of
   water, which largely extinguished the main body of the fire. In spite
   of this, rescue workers were not able to approach the wreck (some of
   which was still above water) for two weeks due to clouds of toxic and
   inflammable gas surrounding it. After two weeks, it was possible to
   start recovering bodies from the wreck and pumping off the remains of
   the oil cargo that was still on board.

The aftermath

   What became known variously as 'the Betelgeuse incident', 'the
   Betelgeuse disaster' or 'the Whiddy Island disaster' was the worst
   maritime disaster in Irish history. (Gulf and Total executives commonly
   referred to 'the Betelgeuse incident'). Military and civilian personnel
   were mobilised from all over Ireland to deal with it. The incident was
   the subject of agonised debate in the Dáil. One TD noted that there had
   been earlier incidents at the Whiddy Island terminal and questioned
   whether Gulf's status as a major employer had made the authorities
   reluctant to enforce a rigorous inspection regime.

   The Irish government appointed a Tribunal to investigate the incident,
   presided over by Justice Declan Costello. This Tribunal took a year to
   hear evidence and prepare a 480 page report. The report indicated three
   main factors that had contributed to the incident. These were:
    1. The poor condition of the Betelgeuse for which its operator, Total
       S.A., was to blame. Immediately before the incident, the vessel's
       hull and tanks were cracked, corroded and leaking. The 11 year old
       vessel had been worked hard and was at the end of its service life.
    2. Incorrect unloading sequences and ballasting which resulted in the
       buoyancy of the hull becoming uneven and the hull therefore
       strained. Lack of crew training was the probable explanation. Total
       was held largely to blame for this. However, given that all the
       personnel involved in the unloading had died in the explosion, it
       was difficult to be certain as to what had happened.
    3. Inadequate and poorly maintained fire fighting systems both on the
       vessel and on the jetty. Gulf and Total were held jointly to blame
       for this. A combination of human failings and financial constraints
       were the immediate causes.

   It was determined that a faulty unloading operation had unbalanced the
   vessel, causing it to break its back and thereby rupturing several
   empty tanks. Vapour from the ruptured tanks had escaped into the vessel
   and exploded in a fireball. All the crew on board the ship at the time
   of the incident (41 in total) are believed to have died, although not
   all the bodies were found. In addition, one visitor to the ship (an
   officer's wife) and eight terminal workers were killed. Initial efforts
   to contain the fire were hampered by a lack of organisation and poorly
   maintained fire fighting equipment at the terminal. The Bantry fire
   brigade spent some time waiting at the town pier for a launch to take
   them onto the island. The terminal's own fire engine would not start.
   Firefighters had to break into the terminal's main depot in order to
   access equipment (much of which did not work) and materials.
   Betelgeuse memorial, St Finbarr's Church graveyard, Bantry -
   overlooking Bantry Harbour
   Enlarge
   Betelgeuse memorial, St Finbarr's Church graveyard, Bantry -
   overlooking Bantry Harbour

   There was some controversy over the exact timing of events and the
   response of the terminal management to the disaster as it unfolded.
   Some local residents claimed that there was anything up to 5 minutes
   between the audible structural failure of the vessel and the time at
   which the initial explosion happened. If this were so, the opportunity
   to attempt an evacuation had been missed. But the terminal management
   insisted that the explosion had almost immediately followed the
   structural failure. However, all concerned praised the initiative and
   courage of the firefighters and rescue workers.

   A Dutch salvage firm, L Smit & Co, raised the Betelgeuse in four
   sections. The first section (the bow) was towed out to open water, 100
   miles offshore, and scuttled. This measure attracted protests from the
   fishing community, so two further sections were sealed up and towed to
   breaking yards in Spain for disposal. A fourth section was broken up
   locally. During the salvage operation the life of a diver was lost. The
   last section was not removed until July 1980. Local fishing grounds
   were badly contaminated and a clean-up was not finally complete until
   1983.

   The costs of salvage, clean-up and compensation are believed to have
   totalled around US$120 millions. That included compensation paid by
   Total to Gulf. Most of the relevant costs were paid by insurance
   companies and all the various claims and counter-claims were eventually
   settled out of court. Gulf never reopened the terminal and a
   feasibility study in 1985 showed that it no longer had any potential
   use in international oil trade. In 1986 Gulf surrendered its lease on
   the site to the Irish government. The government used the terminal
   (after carrying out a limited refurbishment) to hold its strategic oil
   reserve, with loading and unloading carried out via a buoy. The
   terminal's main jetty was not rebuilt.

   A number of memorial services have been held to commemorate
   anniversaries of the incident. The most recent of these was on the 25th
   anniversary in January 2004. Relatives of the victims joined with local
   residents in a special service held at St Finbarr’s Church in Bantry. A
   memorial sculpture, incorporating the ship's bell which was recovered
   from the wreck, has been erected in the hillside graveyard overlooking
   the harbour. The bodies of two unidentified casualties from the
   incident are interred nearby.

Trivia

   Gulf Oil sponsored US television coverage of the NASA space launches
   and voyages in the 1960's. One commercial included in this coverage had
   an Irish band singing a rousing maritime song with the chorus :

          Bringin' home the oil, me boys, bringin' home the oil!
          Sailing all around the world, bringin' home the oil!
          A workin' on a tanker ship, it's very hard we toil,
          A sailin' into Bantry Bay, bringin' home the oil!

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