About 1938 P.s.t., on December 17, 1976, the tankship SS SANSINENA, while pumping seawater ballast into its cargo tanks at the Union Oil Terminal, Berth 46, Los Angeles Harbor, California, exploded, burned and sank. The SANSINENA was destroyed. Eight crewmembers were killed; a security guard was listed as missing and presumed dead. The total losses included damage to about 260 other vessels, mostly pleasure craft, and damage to residences and commercial structures ashore, some of which were more than 3 miles from Berth 46. Berth 46 could not be used for more than 16 months. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the explosion aboard the SS SANSINENA was the ignition by an undetermined source of flammable gases which accumulated above the cargo tanks and the propagation of the resulting fire into a cargo tank through either an opening in the cargo tank's vent pipe system or its uncovered ullage opening. Most of the petroleum vapor-concentrated gases, which were being displaced by pumping seawater ballast into cargo tanks, were being vented through the ullage openings too near to the main deck and at venting velocities too low to prevent flammable gases from accumulating near the deck and at a time when the wind speed was too low to adequately disperse the cargo tank gases.


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    Titel :

    Marine Accident Report - Liberian Tankship SS SANSINENA Explosion and Fire, Union Oil Terminal, Berth 46, Los Angeles Harbor, California, December 17, 1976


    Erscheinungsdatum :

    1978


    Format / Umfang :

    42 pages


    Medientyp :

    Report


    Format :

    Keine Angabe


    Sprache :

    Englisch