Thrasyvoulos V - Cargo Ship Incident
(Information on this site is considered to be accurate at the time of posting, but is subject to change as new information becomes available.)


 

Summary Information 

Date of Incident:  
Reported at 04:40 a.m. on Thursday November 11, 2004

Location:  
Approximately 190 miles off-shore, from Cape Flattery, the northwest corner of Washington state.

Product/Quantity:
Light Fuel Oil
Amount unknown at this time

Cause:  
3 x 1.5 inch puncture hole in the hull, which was the result of a collision with an oil barge in Korea

 

Other Sources of Information

 

Update 12:00 noon,  11/12

The Department of Ecology’s contracted rescue tug Lauren Foss met the Thrasyvoulos V at 6:45 a.m. on November 12, 2004. The repair team, including nationally recognized salvage master Captain Mick Leitz, assessed the damage at first light. The source of oil was identified as a 3 x 1.5 inch puncture hole in the hull.

The team constructed a metal patch with a neoprene gasket and mechanically attached it using “J” bolts. The combination of a very sound patch on the hull and the oil/water level in the tank being well below the hole (after having been lowered by pumping to another tank) dramatically reduced the risk of a further oil release.

By approximately 8:45 a.m. the Thrasyvoulos V was underway inbound for the port of Vancouver, B.C. with the tug Lauren Foss trailing it. The Lauren Foss was bound for Port Angeles. Winds were out of the East at approximately 20 knots.

As of 11:00 a.m., the Marine Spill Response Corporation’s spill response vessel the William C. Park Responder was at Pillar Point in the Strait of Juan De Fuca, heading west and making about 9 knots. MSRC deployed the William C. Park Responder to conduct a training “drill” in the area. Ecology and MSRC continue to discuss contract options.

 

Initial Report

At 4:40AM on November 11, 2004 the Department of Ecology was notified that the Greek ship Thrasyvoulos V was leaking oil approximately 190 miles off of Cape Flattery, Washington. The ship had reported that it was trailing an oil sheen and that the ship’s #5 fuel tank in its double bottom had leaked. Later information indicated that the vessel had pumped all of the oil out of the leaking tank and had identified a relatively small hole in the hull a couple of feet above the waterline.

According to Lloyd’s Registry the Thrasyvoulos V is a 37,000 Gross Ton bulk carrier (cargo ship) that was built in 1984 and is 783 feet in length. The registered owner is the Greek company Fabulous Marine Ltd. The ship was reported to not have any cargo onboard and was in ballast.

The rescue tug Lauren Foss, under contract to Ecology, was released and underway from its berth at Neah Bay at approximately 5:30AM. The tug proceeded to Port Angeles to pick up divers, repair experts, hull patching equipment, and oil spill boom before transiting to the Greek ship. An additional tug was dispatched from Victoria, British Columbia.

Transport Canada is the lead agency and is in regular communication with the vessel and U.S. Coast Guard. Ecology personnel are assisting the U.S. Coast Guard in coordinating the response to the incident. At the request of the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Navy dispatched a P3 aircraft to complete an overflight of the ship.

However, due to the uncertainty of the situation, a number of precautionary measures had been taken by the company, Transport Canada, U.S. Coast Guard, and Ecology. Spill containment and clean-up resources were notified and forward deployed as a precaution. The British Columbia-based spill response cooperative Burrard Clean was retained by the vessel. Ecology has asked the Marine Spill Response Corporation (MSRC) to be prepared in case the situation degrades.