It was struck by the 12,000-tonne Paracas (Panama) at 4:10 in thick fog. The Paracas having ignored the shipping lanes so that it could take a quicker route down the channel. The Texaco Caribbean, exploded from the bunker oil fumes in its hold[2]. It split in two, the bow section sinking immediately, the stern section drifting for several hours before sinking too resulting in 600 Tonnes of bunker fuel been spilled [3]. The incident occurred in the English Channel 13km off Folkestone with the loss of at least eight lives. The explosion was so great that property was damaged in Folkestone.[4][5] 20 survivors were rescued by Bravagos (Norway) and the fishing vessel Viking Warrior (United Kingdom). The survivors were taken to Dover, The "Paracas" was towed to Hamburg.[6]
Despite the British coastal authorities placing 3 vertical green lights on site to warn other ships of the presence of the wreck,the 2,695 ton Brandenburg struck the wreck of Texaco Caribbean (Peru)at 07:30 and sank within minutes with the loss of 21 lives. Life boats did not have time to respond and only 11 survivors were picked out from the water by fishermen.[4][5]
The ship caught fire at Gibraltar, with its bridge deck and accommodation gutted. Repairs were deemed uneconomic and the ship was scrapped later in the year.
The three-masted auxiliary barque was driven ashore in Parengarenga Harbour, a few miles south of North Cape. She was en route to New Zealand from Australia, and after being becalmed encountered a gale on rounding North Cape and failed to make Houhora Harbour. The crew of 13 men and one woman landed safely, there were no fatalities. She was the first square-rigged sailing vessel wrecked on the New Zealand coast for more than 50 years. Endeavour II had taken part in the 1970 bi-centenary re-enactment of James Cook's landing at Botany Bay, Sydney on 29 April 1970.[12]
A light ship and 5 light buoys were added above the site of the wreck of Texaco Caribbean (Peru) by Trinity House. However the Niki sailing out of Dunkirk ignored these and additional warnings of the close by tanker Hebris. As observed by the Hebris, it hit the submerged wreck(s) at approximately 8.16pm and sank with the loss of all 21 crew and 1 passenger (the chief engineer's wife) before the Hebris could perform a rescue of the men that had been observed in the water. 10 bodies were subsequently recovered.[15][16][4]
Carrying a cargo of heavy construction equipment, the motor vessel sank in Portage Bay on the coast of Alaska. Reports of the sinking do not indicate in which of several Alaskan bodies of water named "Portage Bay" the sinking took place.[13]
The bulk carrier had run aground and broken her back at Genoa in April 1970, but Smit Tak International had refloated the after portion on 12 October 1971 and was towing it to be scuttled on the Balearic Abyssal Plain. About 90 miles (78 nmi; 140 km) out from Genoa the hulk sank in the early hours of 14 October.[48]
The OBO carrier exploded and caught fire 150 nautical miles (280 km) East London, South Africa. All on board were rescued by Showa Venture (Liberia). The captain and five officers later reboarded the ship, which was towed by the tugs Arctic and Statesman to Port Elizabeth.[52] The ship was repaired and returned to service.[53]
^"13 are rescued as vessel founders in North Sea". The Times. No. 58067. London. 8 January 1971. col B-C, p. 3. template uses deprecated parameter(s) (help)
^ abcLane, Anthony (2009). Shipwrecks of Kent. Stroud: The History Press. pp. 82–84. ISBN978-0-7524-1720-2. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |coauthors= and |month= (help)
^ abHendry, Alex (13 January 1971). "International dispute on Channel Safety". The Times. No. 58071. London. col D, p. 1. template uses deprecated parameter(s) (help)
^ abBignell, Alan (2001). Kent Shipwrecks (Second ed.). Newbury: Countryside Books. pp. 106–13. ISBN1 85306 719 9.
^"Picture Gallery". The Times. No. 58121. London. 13 March 1971. col D-F, p. 4. template uses deprecated parameter(s) (help)
^Leapman, Michael (30 March 1971). "33 lost in tanker broken 'by one wave'". The Times. No. 58134. London. col E, p. 7. template uses deprecated parameter(s) (help)
^ ab"Liner refloated after two hours on shingle bank". The Times. No. 58174. London. 17 May 1971. col D-E, p. 1. template uses deprecated parameter(s) (help)
^Mitchell, W H, and Sawyer, L A (1995). The Empire Ships. London, New York, Hamburg, Hong Kong: Lloyd's of London Press Ltd. p. not cited. ISBN1-85044-275-4. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Hazelhurst, Peter (25 September 1971). "British ship holed in Pakistan port by East Bengal frogemen". The Times. No. 58282. London. col A-B, p. 5. template uses deprecated parameter(s) (help)
^ ab"Captain reboards blazing tanker with five officers". The Times. No. 58321. London. 10 November 1971. col C, p. 7. template uses deprecated parameter(s) (help)
^"Ship sinks, tree hits bus, as gales sweep Britain". The Times. No. 58355. London. 20 December 1971. col A-D, p. 1. template uses deprecated parameter(s) (help)