Burmah Agate Research Paper

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
In the early morning of November 5, more explosions aboard the Burmah Agate opened several starboard and center tanks. The On-Scene Coordinator and acting Captain of the Port contacted the U.S. Navy Supervisor of Salvage to bring in booms and skimmers with personnel to operate them. On November 7, the Linda Partain arrived on scene to fight fires along with the Jacob Van Heemskerk and the Seaspan Raider. Goodyear boom was deployed astern of the Burmah Agate. On November 8, only the Linda Partain remained alongside the tanker, applying water to the forward tanks to cool them. The other two tugs had moved away due to explosions. (OSIR 17) Vessels continued to deploy the Goodyear boom near the Burmah Agate. On November 10, 2,000 feet of Goodyear boom was deployed north of the Burmah Agate to protect the Galveston Channel and Bolivar Peninsula. Booming of the San Luis Pass area was completed with the deployment of 4,000 feet of boom. Oil entrainment was discovered under the booms astern of the
On December 17 a foreign vessel anchored near the Burmah Agate and carried away the Goodyear booms as it dragged anchor. The boom was re-deployed the next day. Through the duration of the response, four skimming barriers OWOCRS and one Lockheed skimmer OWORS were used. Heavy seas hindered booming and oil recovery efforts. Oil began to entrain when the current reached .75 knots, and once the current reached 1 knot the OWOCRS were totally useless. Furthermore, the OWOCRS were only useful in a stationary configuration, and could not be maneuvered effectively to follow a moving slick. (OSIR