New Carissa
Template:Ship table The Motor Vessel New Carissa, more commonly known as the New Carissa, was a wood chip freighter that ran aground on a beach near Coos Bay, Oregon in a February 1999 storm and subsequently broke apart. A first attempt to tow the bow section of the ship out to sea failed when the tow line broke in gale force winds; the bow was again grounded, this time near Waldport, Oregon. Eventually the bow was successfully towed out to sea and sunk; the stern section remains on the beach at the original grounding site near Coos Bay.
Although an attempt was made to burn off the fuel oil and diesel on board the ship in situ, a significant amount was still spilled from the wreckage, causing ecological damage to the Oregon coast.
The United States Coast Guard performed an investigation and found that captain's error was the main cause of the wreck. There was significant legal and financial fallout for the ship's owners.
The wreck
On February 4, 1999, the New Carissa, a Panamanian-flagged 639-foot wood-chip freighter owned by the Japanese shipping concern Nippon Yusen Kaisha (via a subsidiary, Green Atlas Shipping), was bound for the port of Coos Bay to pick up a load of wood chips when the ship's crew was informed by the local bar pilots that weather conditions would prevent the ship from entering Coos Bay harbor until the next morning. The captain, Benjamin Morgado, ordered the ship to drop anchor 1.7 nm off the coast in order to ride out the storm. The crew used only a single anchor to secure the ship, and according to a United States Coast Guard review of the incident, used an insufficiently long chain. The short chain and the weather conditions (including 20-25 knot winds) caused the ship to drag its anchor; furthermore, poor navigational techniques and inadequate watchkeeping led to the crew failing to notice that the ship was moving. Once the movement was discovered, the crew attempted to raise anchor and move away from shore, but the weather and sea conditions made this difficult. By the time the anchor was raised, the ship had been pushed too close to the shore to recover.[1]
The ship ran aground on the beach 2.7 miles (4.5 km) north of the entrance to Coos Bay, and attempts to refloat it failed. At this point, two of the five fuel tanks on the ship began to leak fuel onto the beach, eventually spilling approximately 70,000 gallons of thick "bunker C" fuel oil and diesel onto the beach and into the water.[2][3]
Neither the captain nor any of the 22-man crew was injured in the incident.
Rescue and recovery operations
Recovery operations began immediately when the grounding was first reported by the ship's crew; however, several factors combined to severely complicate the operation.
Initial rescue attempts
Initial rescue operations were hampered by the inclement weather. Attempts to move the New Carissa under her own power failed and tugboat assistance was not available immediately after the grounding. Only one tug was available locally, but it was unable to cross the Coos Bay bar due to safety concerns, nor was it certain that it could have successfully rescued the New Carissa. The nearest salvage tug capable of towing a ship of that size off a beach, the Salvage Chief, was moored at its home port of Astoria, Oregon, 200 miles to the north—a 24 hour journey. In addition, the vessel had not sailed in over a year and was neither fueled, provisioned, nor was a crew immediately available. It took 18 hours to mobilize the Salvage Chief, at which point poor weather in the Astoria area prevented the vessel from crossing the treacherous Columbia River bar for an additional two days. As a result, the Salvage Chief did not arrive to the incident site until February 8, four days after the grounding occurred.
Unfortunately, continued poor weather in the meantime had driven the New Carissa closer to the shore, and the Salvage Chief, when it arrived on scene, was unable to reach the New Carissa with its tow gear. On February 10, the ship suffered major structural failure when the hull breached near the engine room, flooding the engines with seawater (and thus disabling them). When this occurred, the ship's insurers declared the vessel to be a total loss. As a result, the New Carissa was no longer a salvageable vessel; instead it had effectively become a shipwreck. [4]
Wreck recovery operations
Since the vessel was no longer seaworthy and could not move under its own power (even if freed from the beach), the focus of the operation changed. Oil from the ship's fuel tanks continued to pose an environmental hazard, especially with the ship continuing to experience structural failure. In order to mitigate the situation, the United States Coast Guard decided to try to set the fuel tanks on fire in order to burn off the fuel oil. Various incendiary devices were used, including napalm, but the fuel failed to burn completely. Complicating matters, the fires contributed to the structural stress on the vessel, ultimately causing the vessel to break into two sections.
On March 2, salvage vessels managed to float the 440-foot bow section, and attempted to tow it out to sea. 40 miles away from shore, however, the tow line broke in another storm; the bow, leaking oil, floated for fourteen hours until it ran aground near Waldport, Oregon, approximately 80 miles (130 km) to the north. One week later, on March 9, the bow was again refloated and successfully towed by the tugboat Sea Victory 248 miles off the coast, where the ocean is 10,000 feet (3,000m) deep. There, it was sunk by two United States Navy ships, the destroyer USS David R. Ray and the submarine USS Bremerton. 400 pounds of high explosives were attached to the bow and detonated.[5] 69 rounds of gunfire from the David R. Ray's 5-inch deck guns then punctured the hull, and the Bremerton fired a MK-48 torpedo at the underside of the ship. The bow section flooded as planned and sank stern-first, trapping the remaining oil within.[6]
Attempts to refloat and tow the stern section, however, were unsuccessful. An on-site dismantling of the wreck was considered but was rejected due to environmental concerns. As of May 2006, the stern of the vessel remains on the beach, along with 1,000 gallons of fuel oil which remain in the tanks.
Environmental impact
The wreck of the New Carissa caused what is considered by many to be one of the most serious oil spills to affect the state of Oregon (a state which lacks oil refinery facilities and thus is not called upon by oil tankers). Analysis conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined that over 3,000 shorebirds and seabirds of more than 50 species perished due to the approximately 70,000 gallons of fuel oil that were spilled.[7][8]
262 threatened Marbled Murrelets and between four and eight endangered Western Snowy Plovers were among the birds that were killed.[9] Harbor Seals, fish, and shellfish were also killed or affected. Several beaches were fouled, with balls of tar continuing to wash up for more than a month after the wreck.[10]
Despite the large loss of marine life, it is thought that the initial burning of the oil prevented what could have been a worse spill, and Captain Mike Hall of the Coast Guard stated that "at least 82 percent of the oil onboard the New Carissa never reached the wildlife or the pristine shoreline of Oregon's coast".[10]
The environmental impact of the sinking of the bow section was thought to be minimized since it was towed out beyond the continental shelf, into very deep water. Any remaining oil on board is unlikely to have affected marine life since the low temperatures at the bottom of the ocean would have caused it to solidify.[11]
The remains of the stern section, however, pose a continuing environmental and safety hazard.
Legal aftermath
Subsequent litigation has proven expensive for the ship's owners.
United States suit
In 2001, Green Atlas Shipping and its insurer initially sued the United States for $96 million, claiming negligence on the part of the Coast Guard due to faulty nautical charts. The U.S. countersued for $7 million in damages. In 2004, the two sides reached an agreement in which Green Atlas would pay the U.S. a net of $6.5 million. Although this was far less than the damages claimed by the U.S. for environmental cleanup and restoration costs, government officials still saw the settlement as a victory since the shipping company was forced to pay for part of the damage.[12]
State of Oregon suit
The State of Oregon also sued, demanding that the ship's owners and/or their insurers pay for the cost of removing the ship and for environmental damages. In March 2003, a Coos County jury found the ship's owners guilty of negligent trespass, and awarded the state $25 million in damages. That sum was placed in escrow, pending appeal. On May 23, 2006, a settlement was reached in the appeal in which the state kept $20 million of the $25 million in escrow, plus $2.1 million in interest earned on the escrow account. The remaining $5 million was returned to Green Atlas Shipping. Of the $22.1 million that the state was awarded in the settlement, $3.1 million will be used to pay the state's legal fees; the remaining $19 million will be used for cleanup, including the future removal of the vessel's stern.[13]
Private party litigation
Numerous private parties, including at least one oyster farmer, have also successfully sued for damages.[14]
Crew investigation
In addition, the captain and most of the crew of the ship—all nationals of the Philippines—had to face the ordeal of a U.S. Coast Guard Board of Inquiry, which required them to remain in the United States for several weeks after the wreck.[15] In addition, a federal grand jury investigated the incident for criminal wrongdoing. Morgado refused to answer many of the questions posed at the inquiry, citing his Fifth Amendment rights. In October 21, the board issued its findings that captain's error was the primary cause of the wreck (also finding the first and third officers responsible), but finding no criminal wrongdoing.[1]
Future plans
While attempts to tow the stern out to sea have failed (and have now been deemed unworkable by authorities), the state of Oregon still intends to see the remainder of the vessel removed from the beach. The recent settlement of the lawsuit against the ship's owners cleared the legal hurdles for removal (and provided the funds necessary to finance the project). Pending approval from the state's Legislative Emergency Board, a project to remove the stern by dismantling it on the beach will begin in 2007.
There was some debate by local residents on whether to actually remove the wrecked stern since it could become a tourist attraction,[16] but according to the director of the Oregon Department of State Lands (the regulatory agency which is overseeing the matter), removal of the stern is necessary to prevent liability claims, and to demonstrate that the state is "serious about removing wrecks". Failure to do so, it is claimed, might undermine the state's argument (used in court against the New Carissa owners) that the vessel is trespassing on state property, should another vessel wreck on the Oregon coast in a similar fashion (most Oregon beaches are public property).[13] In addition, many environmentalists remain concerned about the potential for further ecological damage should the vessel leak any of the fuel oil which remains on board.
Notes
- ^ a b New Carissa One-Man Formal Investigation, US Coast Guard report. September 16, 1999. [1] (PDF) (Accessed June 13, 2006)
- ^ McGraw-Hill Environmental Global Issues Map: New Carissa Oil Spill on the Oregon Coast. March 1999. [2] (Accessed June 13, 2006)
- ^ It is impossible to determine the exact amount of fuel oil and diesel that were spilled. 70,000 gallons is the figure most commonly quoted by both media and government sources. The US Fish and Wildlife Service has noted that some estimates ranged from 25,000 to 140,000 gallons.
- ^ New Carissa Review Committee, M. Lehman-Chair et. al. Report and Recommendations to the Governor of the State of Oregon. April 2000. [3] (PDF) (Accessed June 13, 2006)
- ^ Final Disposal Operations memorandum, Coast Guard Unified Command. April 19, 1999. [4](PDF) (Accessed June 13, 2006)
- ^ "Bow of New Carissa Sinks to Resting Site", from New Carissa joint information center. March 11, 1999. [5] (Accessed June 13, 2006)
- ^ The New Carissa Damage Assessment Restoration Plan "Q&A", US Fish & Wildlife Service website. [6] (PDF) (Accessed June 13, 2006)
- ^ Merems, Arlene. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Memorandum dated September 15, 1999. [7] (PDF) (Accessed June 13, 2006)
- ^ Skrabis, Kristin E. PhD. "Resource Equivalency Analysis for Western Snowy Plover". US Department of the Interior. May 24, 2005. [8] (PDF) (Accessed June 13, 2006)
- ^ a b "Oil Skimmer Oregon Responder Does Not Find Oil After Bow of New Carissa Sinks", from New Carissa joint information center. March 12, 1999. [9] (Accessed June 13, 2006)
- ^ "New Carissa Midway to Final Resting Place", from New Carissa joint information center, March 9, 1999. [10] (Accessed June 13, 2006)
- ^ "U.S. agrees on New Carissa settlement", Associated Press, June 10, 2004. [11] (Accessed June 13, 2006)
- ^ a b O'Neill, Patrick. "Channel cleared for New Carissa's last trip". The Oregonian, May 24, 2006. [12] (Accessed June 13, 2006)
- ^ The Cargo Letter website. October 2001. [13] (Accessed June 13, 2006)
- ^ Rumler, John. "The Sailors Behind the Shipwreck". AsianWeek. March 11, 1999. [14] (Accessed June 13, 2006)
- ^ McCall, William. "Land board settles New Carissa shipwreck cleanup for $22 million". May 23, 2006. [15] (Accessed June 13, 2006)
References
- Newport Internet New Carissa coverage, with original press releases
- Official NOAA website
- Oregon Department of Environmental Quality: New Carissa Review Committee
- OregonLive.com coverage
- Oregon Fish & Wildlife Department, Key Information on the New Carissa Oil Spill Final Restoration Plan