# Oil emerging from old wreck



## Peter B (Nov 12, 2006)

A 3000 m² oil slick was observed in the Baltic Sea today, directly over the location of a bulk-carrier that sank in 2003.

The oil was observed by a local fishing vessel. The Royal Danish Navy initially sent the patrol vessel _Nymfen_ to the position and reports that it is a thin layer of light oil, expected to vapourize within a short time.
After the sinking, the majority of the oil onboard was recovered, so the current pollution is not expected to produce large amounts.
In any case, the RDN has dispatched an Environmental Protection Vessel and a Homeguard Cutter with oil barriers to the site, in case the situation should deterioate.
A diving company has been hired to investigate the exact source of the pollution.

The foundered vessel, the Chinese bulk-carrier Fu Shan Hai, sank north of Bornholm on May 31, 2003, following a collision with the container vessel _Gdynia_. The official casualty report can be found here: http://www.sofartsstyrelsen.dk/Do***ents/Publikationer/Ulykker%20til%20søs/OKE%20Rapporter/Handelsskib/Kollisioner/2003/FU_shan_hai_gdnynia.pdf

Danish news footage with live pictures of the sinking: http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Indland/2010/05/13/143718.htm


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## MikeBrown (Nov 23, 2006)

Interesting. I was on an oil tanker that sank. She was fully loaded with 42000 of Arabian crude. The cuase was a flooded engine room (long story) but all the cargo tanks remained intact. Being that it was quite deep water (Pacific Ocean) here's one for the experts.
At what point does the buoyancy of the trapped cargo override the loss of buoyancy due to flooded enginerooms,cofferdams etc etc etc? What happens then? Does the ship adopt a sort of submerged neutral buoyancy and drift around aimlessly?
Just a thought - but a thought that has puzzled me for years?


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## Peter B (Nov 12, 2006)

*Update*

The size of the oil slick has been corrected to approx. 15 000 m². The Homeguard Cutter _Hjortø_ and the Environmental Protection Vessel _Marie Miljø_ are on site.The diving support vessel _Asterix_ is due to arrive at 1300 hrs today.
It is still deemed impossible to collect the current, very thin, layer of light oil, which is expected to vapourize.
The area is continously monitored by satellite and Environmental Patrol Aircraft.

Links:
_Marie Miljø_: http://forsvaret.dk/SOK/eng/About/Ships/Pages/21mett.aspx
_Hjortø_: http://forsvaret.dk/SOK/eng/About/Ships/Pages/59Mhv900.aspx
Environmental Patrol Aircraft:
http://forsvaret.dk/ftk/do***ents/ftk/factsheets/challenger-1.pdf
http://forsvaret.dk/ftk/do***ents/ftk/factsheets/challenger-2.pdf


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## Andrew Craig-Bennett (Mar 13, 2007)

MikeBrown said:


> Interesting. I was on an oil tanker that sank. She was fully loaded with 42000 of Arabian crude. The cuase was a flooded engine room (long story) but all the cargo tanks remained intact. Being that it was quite deep water (Pacific Ocean) here's one for the experts.
> At what point does the buoyancy of the trapped cargo override the loss of buoyancy due to flooded enginerooms,cofferdams etc etc etc? What happens then? Does the ship adopt a sort of submerged neutral buoyancy and drift around aimlessly?
> Just a thought - but a thought that has puzzled me for years?


Interesting point - unlike air, Arab Light is not readily compressible!

I recall that Picard used petrol as the flotation medium in the bathyscaph "TRIESTE".


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## Long gone (Jun 20, 2009)

MikeBrown said:


> Interesting. I was on an oil tanker that sank. She was fully loaded with 42000 of Arabian crude. The cuase was a flooded engine room (long story) but all the cargo tanks remained intact. Being that it was quite deep water (Pacific Ocean) here's one for the experts.
> At what point does the buoyancy of the trapped cargo override the loss of buoyancy due to flooded enginerooms,cofferdams etc etc etc? What happens then? Does the ship adopt a sort of submerged neutral buoyancy and drift around aimlessly?
> Just a thought - but a thought that has puzzled me for years?


British Ambassador?


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## MikeBrown (Nov 23, 2006)

Indeed it was .... I was 2/O for my sins!


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