OMI Charger
Appearance
History | |
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Name | OMI Charger |
Operator | OMI Corporation |
Builder | Bethlehem Steel Corporation |
Launched | 10 June 1969 |
Identification | IMO number: 6921311 |
Fate | Sank in Galveston, Texas on October 9, 1993 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Steel hull oil tanker |
Tonnage | 34,485 DWT |
Length | 631 ft 1 in (192.35 m) |
Beam | 90.1 ft (27.5 m) |
Draught | 48.9 ft (14.9 m) |
Propulsion | steam turbine 15,000 hp (11,000 kW) |
OMI Charger was a single-hulled oil tanker built in 1969 and used by the OMI Corporation.
Disaster
[edit]On October 9, 1993 while the tanker was anchored at Boliver Roads near Galveston, Texas, work began on sealing a previously discovered leak in a cargo tank. When a crew member lit an arc welder inside a tank, it ignited gasoline vapors, causing a tremendous explosion which killed three crew members and injured seven. The subsequent fire burned for five hours, and the ship was a total loss.
A US Coast Guard investigation determined that the cargo tank had been improperly cleared and insufficiently tested prior to the incident.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ "Investigation into the Circumstances Surrounding the Explosion and Fire Aboard the Tanker OMI Charger" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2005-11-04. Retrieved 2007-09-11.
29°21′01″N 94°45′10″W / 29.3503°N 94.7529°W