About 1340 on May 31, 1981, the U.S. tankship MONTICELLO VICTORY, which was in an idle status with a small maintenance crew on board and moored at an isolated berth in the Port Arthur, Texas, area, exploded and burned. The vessel had no cargo on board, but it was not gas free. At the time of the initial explosion in No. 11 center cargo tank, welding was being conducted in the engineroom on the auxiliary bilge discharge line which extended up to a valve on the main deck. A path for flame propagation from the welding operation was found to exist, since the valve was found open with a hose attached and a nearby Butterworth port to a cargo tank was open and without flame-screen protection. There were no deaths or serious injuries, but damage to the after cargo tanks and superstructure was estimated at $20 million. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the accident was the failure of the crew to maintain the integrity of the cargo tanks, which had not been cleaned or gas freed, by allowing a Butterworth port into the No. 11 center cargo tank to remain open without flame-screen protection, thereby permitting flammable gases to vent and accumulate on the after main deck until ignited. The probable source of ignition was the welding being conducted in the engineroom on the auxiliary bilge discharge line, which had probably become filled with a flammable gas-air mixture drawn from the open Butterworth port.


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    Titel :

    Marine Accident Report--Explosion and Fire on Board the U.S. Tankship MONTICELLO VICTORY at Port Arthur, Texas, May 31, 1981


    Erscheinungsdatum :

    1981


    Format / Umfang :

    34 pages


    Medientyp :

    Report


    Format :

    Keine Angabe


    Sprache :

    Englisch