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Historical research paper: Oil Spill Case Studies Burmah Agate. Burmah Agate
1979 For my historical research paper I decided to write ...
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Submitted by sjm031000 on July 9, 2007
Category: History Other
Words: 2485 | Pages: 10
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Burmah Agate 1979
For my historical research paper I decided to write about a spill called "Burmah Agate". It all began in the quiet morning of November 1, 1979. The Burmah Agate and the Mimosa collided at the entrance to the Galveston Harbor. The affects were absolutely devastating. The Mimosa struck the Burmah Agate on its starboard side, tearing an 8 by 15 foot hole in the hull. Before anyone could even comprehend what had just happened the situation got a whole lot worse. An explosion occurred upon impact, and the leaking oil ignited. (OSCH 3)
The USCG immediately dispatched the Cutter Valiant, a Coast Guard vessel, to begin search and rescue operations. By noon all 26 crew members of the Mimosa had been found, but only 6 of the Burmah Agate's 37 crew members were accounted for. The first 24 hours demanded frantic action to save lives and prevent the disaster from escalating. When Valiant arrived, the Burmah Agate lay aground, its superstructure aft completely engulfed in flames and other fires raging along its starboard side and on its forecastle. The Mimosa was also ablaze, but heroic helicopter crews went on to rescue crewmen from the burning decks. The disaster had already killed more than thirty sailors. It promised to get much worse as the slowly circling Mimosa worked its way across the buoyed channel, heading inexorably toward a field of active and capped gas pipes and other anchored shipping. (OSIR 2)
Rescue and Assistance team were aboard the Mimosa, but they could not stop its movement: the port anchor was frozen in place; intensity of the fire kept them from reaching the emergency cut-off valves that would have denied fuel to the engines. Finally, the combined efforts of a commercial tug and Coast Guard Group Galveston small boats succeeded in fouling her screw, and stopping the burning ship. One disaster was averted, but they still had two ships on fire, one loaded with 400,000 barrels of oil. It took six...
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