National Transportation Safety Board Marine Accident Report: Fire Aboard the TugScandia and the Subsequent Grounding of the Tug and the Tank Barge North Cape on Moonstone Beach, South Kingston, Rhode Island, January 19, 1996

摘要

On Friday afternoon, January 19, 1996, the U.S. tug Scandia had an engineroomfire while towing the unmanned U.S. tank barge North Cape, 4.5 miles off Point Judith, Rhode Island. All six crewmembers abandoned the Scandia amid 10-foot waves and 25-knot winds; however, no one was injured. The crew was unsuccessful in its attempts to release the anchor of the barge, which ran aground and spilled 828,000 gallons of home heating oil, causing the largest pollution incident in Rhode Island's history, an incident that led to the closing of local fisheries. The safety issues discussed in this report are the origin of the fire, the company management's oversight of vessel maintenance risk assessment of oil transportation by towed barges, search and rescue, and environmental pollution and cleanup.