Esso Brussels
Encyclopedia
Esso Brussels was a commercial oil tanker
built for the Esso
Oil company in 1959. She was involved in a collision in 1973 in which thirteen of her crew perished. She was rebuilt and sailed under various other names until being scrapped in 1985.
shipyard in Malmö
, Sweden
and launched on 26 October 1959. Following outfitting, she entered commercial service transporting crude and refined oil products for the Esso Oil Company throughout Europe
, Africa
and North America
. Built along classic lines with the bridge and the officer's quarters located amidships and the engines, crew quarters and aft deckhouse located toward the stern
, Esso Brussels was a typical oil tanker in both size and design for her time.
in the southernmost anchorage of the Verrazano Narrows in New York Harbor
on May 30, 1973, fully loaded with 319402 barrels (50,780.9 m³) of light Nigerian crude oil destined for Exxon
's Bayway Refinery
. While she waited for the high tide
, her mixed European crew of 36 men and one woman, first steward Gisele Rome, under the command of Captain Constant Dert went about their daily routine into the evening of the 30th. When the 12 a.m. to 4 a.m. watch came on duty all seemed normal.
At roughly the same time, the containership Sea Witch left the Howland Hook Marine Terminal
terminal on Staten Island
. She headed for the sea, carrying some 730 containers
on board. Twenty-nine minutes after midnight, the Sea Witch passed the ferry terminal at the tip of St. George, Staten Island
and turned to a heading of 167 degrees
in order to begin transiting the Narrows separating Staten Island
from Brooklyn
. Seven minutes later the Sandy Hook
pilot
Jack Cahill ordered a change in course to 156 degrees so the ship would pass through the shipping lane in the general anchorage. The second turn never occurred. When the ship did not respond as expected, the helmsman
told the Captain
that Sea Witch was no longer steering. Both the captain's and the pilot's attempts to re-engage the steering gear and check the Sea Witch's continuing turn to starboard proved futile.
With all steering control was lost and the ship proceeding at 15 knots with the aide of an outbound tide
the Sea Witch was being forced out of the channel toward Staten Island
. The Pilot immediately ordered the engines to full astern and the port anchor
to be let go in an effort to stop the ship. Blowing a series of short rapid blasts on the ship's whistle signaling that Sea Witch was in distress and ordering the general alarm bell rung to alert the her crew, both the Pilot and the Captain watched as both of her anchors failed to deploy. A mere two and a half minutes after control was lost on board Sea Witch she was a mere 200 feet (61 m) from the starboard side of the Esso Brussels and realizing that the ship was not going to be able to stop in time, the Sea Witchs whistle was locked to sound continuously and her crew abandoned the forward section of the ship.
The mate standing what was a quiet and uneventful watch on Esso Brussels's bridge heard Sea Witch's distress whistle and watched as the containership began to head out of the channel towards his ship. First thinking that the disabled ship would pass astern of his tanker, the Mate sounded the general alarm as the Sea Witch continued to veer in his direction. With only about two minutes of warning, many of the crew of the Esso Brussels were still below decks when the collision occurred.
Making about 13 knots and her engines in full reverse, Sea Witch rammed its ice-reinforced bow
into the starboard side of the Esso Brussels between the midship and aft
deckhouses, piercing three of the Esso Brussels cargo tanks and locking the two ships together. The light crude oil spewed out of the punctured tanks and its vapors quickly caught fire wreathing both ships in a pool of burning oil. Despite the sudden chaos on the Esso Brussels Capt. Dert supervised the terrified crew as they abandoned the burning ship onto the only available lifeboat
. Having lowered the motorized aft port
lifeboat the crew tried to release it from its lines and get its engine started, but the hand crank to start the engine was impossible to operate on the overloaded lifeboat once freed from the ship.
Despite the resistance from the anchors of the Esso Brussels, the engines of Sea Witch, still running full reverse, were pulling both ships down the Narrows. This movement created a suction force which pinned the Esso Brussels lifeboat against the tanker's hull and brought the pool of flaming oil around the to the Port
side of the ship. A last-second attempt to row the lifeboat away from the advancing fire failed to overpower the suction, and as the flames grew nearer to the lifeboat, many of the crew jumped into the water in a desperate attempt to escape the flames.
Within minutes of the collision the veteran FDNY fireboat Fire Fighter arrived to what the firefighters aboard would later describe as a sea of flames that extended 3,000 yards in front of them. Thinking there had been an explosion on the Esso Brussels, the fireboat
began to pour water onto the ship from its starboard bow, keeping their ship upwind and upcurrent from the smoke and flames now heading towards the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. As the two ships passed beneath the bridge, the pool of burning oil surrounding the ships sent flames high enough to scorch the bottom of the bridge 228 feet (69.5 m) above the water's surface. Fortunately, the anchor chains on the Esso Brussels parted at this point and both ships passed under the bridge quickly, preventing the steel from suffering heat damage.
Propelled by the Sea Witch's still-running engines and the outbound tide, the ships proceeded into outer New York Harbor
and ran aground in Gravesend Bay, burning furiously. After both ships grounded, Fire Fighter moved into position and fought the oil fire from the port side of Esso Brussels. To their horror, as they extinguished the fire they saw the bow of Sea Witch was embedded in the starboard side and realized that two vessels were involved in the inferno. Moving quickly along the port side of the containership they began to pour water on the blazing container stack of the Sea Witch and moved toward its stern, hoping to find some evidence of the ships crew, 30 of whom were rescued from the stern of the ship.
At dawn on May 31, 1973, the fires from the oil cargo on board the Esso Brussels were mostly under control, aided by her sound construction which prevented the oil in her undamaged tanks from leaking out or catching fire. Sea Witch was in much worse condition, as almost all the on-deck containers were still burning. The US Coast Guard and FDNY agreed to have tugs separate the vessels to avoid the risk of the rest of the oil aboard the Esso Brussels catching fire. Once separated, the four FDNY fireboats easily extinguished what little oil continued to burn and the hulk
of the Esso Brussels was towed to the Military Ocean Terminal at Bayonne
to have the balance of her oil cargo removed onto barges for delivery.
By this time, tugs and small craft managed to rescue the Esso Brussels survivors from the water, but 13 of her crew were lost and never seen again. Two members of the Sea Witchs crew were lost below decks, unable to escape the fire and heat.
until November 1973, when she was purchased by Iphigenia Shipping & Trading Co, Piraeus
, Greece
. Esso Brussels was towed to Piraeus to be rebuilt. Emerging from the shipyard
in 1973, the newly named Petrola XVII was placed under the management of John D Latsis. In 1974, she was renamed Spiro, then Petrola XXXVI in 1975, when she was sold to Latsis. In 1976, she was sold back to Iphigenia Shipping & Trading and was renamed Petrola 36. In 1983, management was transferred to Bilinder Marine Corp. Petrola 36 served until 1985, arriving on 21 October at Aliağa
, Turkey
for scrapping.
Oil tanker
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a merchant ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries...
built for the Esso
Esso
Esso is an international trade name for ExxonMobil and its related companies. Pronounced , it is derived from the initials of the pre-1911 Standard Oil, and as such became the focus of much litigation and regulatory restriction in the United States. In 1972, it was largely replaced in the U.S. by...
Oil company in 1959. She was involved in a collision in 1973 in which thirteen of her crew perished. She was rebuilt and sailed under various other names until being scrapped in 1985.
Construction and service
She was built at KockumsKockums
Kockums AB is a shipyard in Malmö, Sweden owned by the German shipyard Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft in Kiel. HDW itself is a subsidiary of the German ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems....
shipyard in Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and launched on 26 October 1959. Following outfitting, she entered commercial service transporting crude and refined oil products for the Esso Oil Company throughout Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Built along classic lines with the bridge and the officer's quarters located amidships and the engines, crew quarters and aft deckhouse located toward the stern
Stern
The stern is the rear or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite of the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Originally, the term only referred to the aft port section...
, Esso Brussels was a typical oil tanker in both size and design for her time.
Collision with the container vessel Sea Witch
The Esso Brussels dropped anchorAnchor
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, that is used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the vessel from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ancora, which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα .Anchors can either be temporary or permanent...
in the southernmost anchorage of the Verrazano Narrows in New York Harbor
New York Harbor
New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...
on May 30, 1973, fully loaded with 319402 barrels (50,780.9 m³) of light Nigerian crude oil destined for Exxon
Exxon
Exxon is a chain of gas stations as well as a brand of motor fuel and related products by ExxonMobil. From 1972 to 1999, Exxon was the corporate name of the company previously known as Standard Oil Company of New Jersey or Jersey Standard....
's Bayway Refinery
Bayway Refinery
Bayway Refinery is a refining facility in the Port of New York and New Jersey, owned by ConocoPhillips. Located in Linden and Elizabeth, New Jersey, it is the northernmost refinery on the East Coast of the United States. The oil refinery converts crude oil into gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, and...
. While she waited for the high tide
High Tide
High Tide was a band formed in 1969 by Tony Hill , Simon House , Peter Pavli and Roger Hadden .-History:...
, her mixed European crew of 36 men and one woman, first steward Gisele Rome, under the command of Captain Constant Dert went about their daily routine into the evening of the 30th. When the 12 a.m. to 4 a.m. watch came on duty all seemed normal.
At roughly the same time, the containership Sea Witch left the Howland Hook Marine Terminal
Howland Hook Marine Terminal
The Howland Hook Marine Terminal is a container port facility in the Port of New York and New Jersey located in northwestern Staten Island in New York City...
terminal on Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
. She headed for the sea, carrying some 730 containers
Intermodal container
An intermodal container is a standardized reusable steel box used for the safe, efficient and secure storage and movement of materials and products within a global containerized intermodal freight transport system...
on board. Twenty-nine minutes after midnight, the Sea Witch passed the ferry terminal at the tip of St. George, Staten Island
St. George, Staten Island
St. George is a neighborhood on the northeastern tip of Staten Island in New York City, where the Kill Van Kull enters Upper New York Bay. It is the most densely developed neighborhood on Staten Island, and the location of the administrative center for the borough and for the coterminous Richmond...
and turned to a heading of 167 degrees
Degree (angle)
A degree , usually denoted by ° , is a measurement of plane angle, representing 1⁄360 of a full rotation; one degree is equivalent to π/180 radians...
in order to begin transiting the Narrows separating Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
from Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. Seven minutes later the Sandy Hook
Sandy Hook, New Jersey
Sandy Hook is a barrier spit, approximately 6.0 miles in length and varying between 0.10 and 1 miles wide in Middletown Township in Monmouth County, along the Atlantic Ocean coast of eastern New Jersey in the United States. The barrier spit encloses the southern entrance of Lower New York Bay...
pilot
Maritime pilot
A pilot is a mariner who guides ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbours or river mouths. With the exception of the Panama Canal, the pilot is only an advisor, as the captain remains in legal, overriding command of the vessel....
Jack Cahill ordered a change in course to 156 degrees so the ship would pass through the shipping lane in the general anchorage. The second turn never occurred. When the ship did not respond as expected, the helmsman
Helmsman
A helmsman is a person who steers a ship, sailboat, submarine, or other type of maritime vessel. On small vessels, particularly privately-owned noncommercial vessels, the functions of skipper and helmsman may be combined in one person. On larger vessels, there is a separate officer of the watch,...
told the Captain
Captain (nautical)
A sea captain is a licensed mariner in ultimate command of the vessel. The captain is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel complies with local and international laws, as well as company and flag...
that Sea Witch was no longer steering. Both the captain's and the pilot's attempts to re-engage the steering gear and check the Sea Witch's continuing turn to starboard proved futile.
With all steering control was lost and the ship proceeding at 15 knots with the aide of an outbound tide
Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....
the Sea Witch was being forced out of the channel toward Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
. The Pilot immediately ordered the engines to full astern and the port anchor
Anchor
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, that is used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the vessel from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ancora, which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα .Anchors can either be temporary or permanent...
to be let go in an effort to stop the ship. Blowing a series of short rapid blasts on the ship's whistle signaling that Sea Witch was in distress and ordering the general alarm bell rung to alert the her crew, both the Pilot and the Captain watched as both of her anchors failed to deploy. A mere two and a half minutes after control was lost on board Sea Witch she was a mere 200 feet (61 m) from the starboard side of the Esso Brussels and realizing that the ship was not going to be able to stop in time, the Sea Witchs whistle was locked to sound continuously and her crew abandoned the forward section of the ship.
The mate standing what was a quiet and uneventful watch on Esso Brussels's bridge heard Sea Witch's distress whistle and watched as the containership began to head out of the channel towards his ship. First thinking that the disabled ship would pass astern of his tanker, the Mate sounded the general alarm as the Sea Witch continued to veer in his direction. With only about two minutes of warning, many of the crew of the Esso Brussels were still below decks when the collision occurred.
Making about 13 knots and her engines in full reverse, Sea Witch rammed its ice-reinforced bow
Bow (ship)
The bow is a nautical term that refers to the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat, the point that is most forward when the vessel is underway. Both of the adjectives fore and forward mean towards the bow...
into the starboard side of the Esso Brussels between the midship and aft
Aft
Aft, in naval terminology, is an adjective or adverb meaning, towards the stern of the ship, when the frame of reference is within the ship. Example: "Able Seaman Smith; lay aft!". Or; "What's happening aft?"...
deckhouses, piercing three of the Esso Brussels cargo tanks and locking the two ships together. The light crude oil spewed out of the punctured tanks and its vapors quickly caught fire wreathing both ships in a pool of burning oil. Despite the sudden chaos on the Esso Brussels Capt. Dert supervised the terrified crew as they abandoned the burning ship onto the only available lifeboat
Lifeboat (shipboard)
A lifeboat is a small, rigid or inflatable watercraft carried for emergency evacuation in the event of a disaster aboard ship. In the military, a lifeboat may be referred to as a whaleboat, dinghy, or gig. The ship's tenders of cruise ships often double as lifeboats. Recreational sailors sometimes...
. Having lowered the motorized aft port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
lifeboat the crew tried to release it from its lines and get its engine started, but the hand crank to start the engine was impossible to operate on the overloaded lifeboat once freed from the ship.
Despite the resistance from the anchors of the Esso Brussels, the engines of Sea Witch, still running full reverse, were pulling both ships down the Narrows. This movement created a suction force which pinned the Esso Brussels lifeboat against the tanker's hull and brought the pool of flaming oil around the to the Port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
side of the ship. A last-second attempt to row the lifeboat away from the advancing fire failed to overpower the suction, and as the flames grew nearer to the lifeboat, many of the crew jumped into the water in a desperate attempt to escape the flames.
Within minutes of the collision the veteran FDNY fireboat Fire Fighter arrived to what the firefighters aboard would later describe as a sea of flames that extended 3,000 yards in front of them. Thinking there had been an explosion on the Esso Brussels, the fireboat
Fireboat
A fireboat is a specialized watercraft and with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard fires. The first fireboats, dating to the late 18th century, were tugboats, retrofitted with firefighting equipment....
began to pour water onto the ship from its starboard bow, keeping their ship upwind and upcurrent from the smoke and flames now heading towards the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. As the two ships passed beneath the bridge, the pool of burning oil surrounding the ships sent flames high enough to scorch the bottom of the bridge 228 feet (69.5 m) above the water's surface. Fortunately, the anchor chains on the Esso Brussels parted at this point and both ships passed under the bridge quickly, preventing the steel from suffering heat damage.
Propelled by the Sea Witch's still-running engines and the outbound tide, the ships proceeded into outer New York Harbor
New York Harbor
New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...
and ran aground in Gravesend Bay, burning furiously. After both ships grounded, Fire Fighter moved into position and fought the oil fire from the port side of Esso Brussels. To their horror, as they extinguished the fire they saw the bow of Sea Witch was embedded in the starboard side and realized that two vessels were involved in the inferno. Moving quickly along the port side of the containership they began to pour water on the blazing container stack of the Sea Witch and moved toward its stern, hoping to find some evidence of the ships crew, 30 of whom were rescued from the stern of the ship.
At dawn on May 31, 1973, the fires from the oil cargo on board the Esso Brussels were mostly under control, aided by her sound construction which prevented the oil in her undamaged tanks from leaking out or catching fire. Sea Witch was in much worse condition, as almost all the on-deck containers were still burning. The US Coast Guard and FDNY agreed to have tugs separate the vessels to avoid the risk of the rest of the oil aboard the Esso Brussels catching fire. Once separated, the four FDNY fireboats easily extinguished what little oil continued to burn and the hulk
Hulk (ship)
A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. Although sometimes used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, the term most often refers to an old ship that has had its rigging or internal equipment removed, retaining only its flotational qualities...
of the Esso Brussels was towed to the Military Ocean Terminal at Bayonne
Military Ocean Terminal at Bayonne
Military Ocean Terminal at Bayonne was a U.S. military ocean terminal located in the Port of New York and New Jersey which operated from 1942 to 1999. The site is on Upper New York Bay south of Port Jersey on the eastern side of Bayonne, New Jersey. Since its closure it has undergone maritime,...
to have the balance of her oil cargo removed onto barges for delivery.
By this time, tugs and small craft managed to rescue the Esso Brussels survivors from the water, but 13 of her crew were lost and never seen again. Two members of the Sea Witchs crew were lost below decks, unable to escape the fire and heat.
Later life
In the months following the collision the severely damaged Esso Brussels remained at the Military Ocean TerminalMilitary Ocean Terminal
Military Ocean Terminals are operated by the U.S. Army Surface Deployment and Distribution Command for distribution of surface cargo from storage and repair depots to military forward based units.-Current facilities:...
until November 1973, when she was purchased by Iphigenia Shipping & Trading Co, Piraeus
Piraeus
Piraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf....
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Esso Brussels was towed to Piraeus to be rebuilt. Emerging from the shipyard
Shipyard
Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
in 1973, the newly named Petrola XVII was placed under the management of John D Latsis. In 1974, she was renamed Spiro, then Petrola XXXVI in 1975, when she was sold to Latsis. In 1976, she was sold back to Iphigenia Shipping & Trading and was renamed Petrola 36. In 1983, management was transferred to Bilinder Marine Corp. Petrola 36 served until 1985, arriving on 21 October at Aliağa
Aliaga
Aliaga can refer to:* Aliaga, Aragon, Spain* Aliağa, Turkey* the Filipino municipality of Aliaga, Nueva Ecija on Luzon* a family name, as in the case of the Peruvian writer Felipe Pardo y Aliaga...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
for scrapping.