MV Argo Merchant

  1. Pages with script errors
  2. Pages with broken file links
  3. IMO Number
  4. 1953 ships
  5. Maritime incidents in 1976
  6. Nantucket, Massachusetts
  7. Oil spills in the United States
  8. Oil tankers
  9. Shipwrecks of the Massachusetts coast


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Argo Merchant, aground southeast of Nantucket seen with a silvery oil slick coming from her center holds.
Career <tr valign="top"><td>Name:</td><td>

Argo Merchant (1973)
VARI (1970)
Permina Samudra III (1968)
Arcturus (1953)</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>Owner:</td><td> Thebes Shipping Inc.</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>Port of registry:</td><td> 22x20px Liberia, Monrovia</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>Builder:</td><td> Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft
Hamburg, Germany</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>Yard number:</td><td> 886</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>Launched:</td><td> 1953</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>Out of service:</td><td> December 15, 1976</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>Identification:</td><td> IMO number: 5022522</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>Fate:</td><td> Foundered/sunk at 41°01′59″N 69°27′00″W / 41.033°N 69.45°W / 41.033; -69.45Coordinates: 41°01′59″N 69°27′00″W / 41.033°N 69.45°W / 41.033; -69.45{{#coordinates:41.033|-69.45|region:US-MA_type:landmark||||||

primary name=

}}</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>Notes:</td><td> [1][2]</td></tr>

General characteristics

<tr valign="top"><td>Type:</td><td> Tanker</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>Tonnage:</td><td> 18,743 GT</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>Length:</td><td> 195.5 m (641 ft)</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>Beam:</td><td> 25.7 m (84 ft)</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>Draught:</td><td> 10.6 m (35 ft)</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>Speed:</td><td> 16 Knots</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>Capacity:</td><td> 28691 DWT</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>Notes:</td><td> [1][2]</td></tr>

MV Argo Merchant was a Liberian-flagged oil tanker built by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft in Hamburg, Germany in 1953, most noted for running aground and subsequent sinking d southeast of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, causing one of the largest marine oil spills in history. Throughout the vessels troubled past, she was involved in more than a dozen major shipping incidents including two other groundings; once in Indonesia while named Permina Samudra III, and again in Sicily while named Vari; and a collision in Japan.[1]

Because of her checkered career and sinking, Argo Merchant was featured in the "worst ship" category in the 1979 publication, The Book of Heroic Failures.[3]

1976 shipwreck

In December 1976, Argo Merchant loaded with 7,700,000 US gallons (29,000,000 l) of No. 6 fuel oil at Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, sailing for Boston under Captain Georgios Papadopoulos. It was later established that the ship carried two unqualified crew as helmsmen, a broken gyrocompass, inadequate charts, and an inaccurate radio direction finder. At six p.m. on 15 December in high winds and 10 ft (3.0 m) seas, the tanker ran aground on Middle Rip Shoal about 25 nautical miles (46 km; 29 mi) southeast of Nantucket and more than 44 km (27 mi) off her intended course. The thirty-eight members of the crew were evacuated, but the shallow waters and weather conditions made it impossible to offload the oil or salvage the ship. On 21 December 1976, Argo Merchant broke apart and emptied its entire cargo of fuel oil, enough to heat 18,000 homes for a year. Fortunately, northwesterly winds blew the 60 by 100 nmi (110 by 190 km; 69 by 120 mi) oil slick offshore, and coastal fisheries and beaches were spared the worst.

File:Argo Merchant breaking apart.jpg
Argo Merchant breaking apart on December 21, 1976.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Argo Merchant". Casualty Database. Center for Tankship Excellence. 2010. http://www.c4tx.org/ctx/job/cdb/precis.php5?key=19761215_001. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Argo Merchant at Shipspottng.com
  3. ↑ Script error

Further reading


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