Historical Research Paper: Oil Spill Case Studies Burmah Agate

Burmah Agate 1979

For my historical research paper I decided to write about a spill called "Burmah Agate". It all began in the quiet morning of November 1, 1979. The Burmah Agate and the Mimosa collided at the entrance to the Galveston Harbor. The affects were absolutely devastating. The Mimosa struck the Burmah Agate on its starboard side, tearing an 8 by 15 foot hole in the hull. Before anyone could even comprehend what had just happened the situation got a whole lot worse. An explosion occurred upon impact, and the leaking oil ignited. (OSCH 3)

The USCG immediately dispatched the Cutter Valiant, a Coast Guard vessel, to begin search and rescue operations. By noon all 26 crew members of the Mimosa had been found, but only 6 of the Burmah Agate's 37 crew members were accounted for. The first 24 hours demanded frantic action to save lives and prevent the disaster from escalating. When Valiant arrived, the Burmah Agate lay aground, its superstructure aft completely engulfed in flames and other fires raging along its starboard side and on its forecastle. The Mimosa was also ablaze, but heroic helicopter crews went on to rescue crewmen from the burning decks. The disaster had already killed more than thirty sailors. It promised to get much worse as the slowly circling Mimosa worked its way across the buoyed channel, heading inexorably toward a field of active and capped gas pipes and other anchored shipping. (OSIR 2)

Rescue and Assistance team were aboard the Mimosa, but they could not stop its movement: the port anchor was frozen in place; intensity of the fire kept them from reaching the emergency cut-off valves that would have denied fuel to the engines. Finally, the combined efforts of a commercial tug and Coast Guard Group Galveston small boats succeeded in fouling her screw, and stopping the burning ship. One disaster was averted, but they still had two ships on fire, one loaded with 400,000 barrels of oil. It took six weeks for the fire on Burmah Agate to burn itself out, and the work to clean the beaches of Galveston Island lasted until Christmas. (OSIR, 4)

The owners of the Burmah Agate assumed responsibility for the spill response. They contracted Clean Water, Inc. for cleanup operations, and Smit International Inc. to fight fires on the Burmah Agate, and to assist in salvage.

Once the oil spilled, it moved fast. Booms and skimmers were deployed to protect beaches. Seasonal winds kept most of the oil offshore, however, heavy concentrations of oil washed ashore at Galveston and San Jose Island. Lighter concentrations of oil impacted Padre Island and the Bolivar Peninsula. Oil came ashore on November 5 at Galveston Jetties and East Beach, and cleanup began immediately. Oil impacted the Matagorda Peninsula on November 6. On November 9, six barrels of oil impacted 437 yards of marshes and sand beaches around Smith Point and five areas on Galveston Island. The Smith Point area was the only inland area impacted by oil. The marsh areas were not cleaned up because response efforts could have caused greater damage than the oiling. By November 12, a slick composed of sheen and mousse in windrows extended 8.5 miles south west of the tanker. Oil in the form of small tarballs impacted Padre Island near Mansfield Pass on November 13. Approximately eight barrels of oil came ashore at Padre Island where no cleanup was done. Heavy concentrations of oil impacted Galveston beaches on November 18. The heaviest impacts of oil occurred near Jamaica Beach November 19-21. On November 24, Jamaica Beach was cleaned with Vacalls. Streamers were observed near Bolivar Peninsula on November 27. (Pitt 01)

Most of the oil burned in the ship or in the water near the ship, however by December 7, a 19 mile long slick extended to the south west of the tanker. Most of the oil spilled from the tanker was blended crude with the remainder the heavier Nigerian crude. Thirty-eight per cent of the oil carried by the Burmah Agate was recovered through lightering operations. Of the remaining oil, an estimated 1.7 per cent was picked up by skimmers, .5 per cent impacted beaches, 48 per cent burned, and 12 per cent dispersed offshore. Ultimately, 2,100 barrels impacted various beaches and marshes. The Burmah Agate burned until January 8, 1980 and was towed to Brownsville, Texas on February 1 for scrapping. (Economic 66)

The G & H Towing Company tugs; The Judge, Carol Hayden, and R.C. Hayden fought the fire under the direction of the Commanding Officer of the USCGC Valiant until Smit International Inc. personnel arrived. The G & H tugs were not manned by trained firefighters, and they had a tendency to leave effective fire fighting positions when explosions occurred aboard the tanker. The G & H tugs continued under the direction of Smit International, Inc. personnel until better vessels were procured.

On November 2, the GST arrived with 612 feet of Open Water Oil Containment and Recovery System (OWOCRS) and two Air-Deliverable Anti-Pollution Transfer Systems. Western Marine provided boats for the deployment of the GST's equipment.

GST personnel worked through the night and into the morning of November 3 to deploy a boom astern of the tanker. In the early evening of November 3, nine firefighters from the Netherlands arrived with additional equipment. Various problems occurred during the evening of November 3; kinks in the boom, no boom lights, and a boom line fouled the prop of a deployment vessel. (OSCH 03)

The Dutch tug Jacob Van Heemskerk was on-scene in the morning of November 4, and began applying water to the Burmah Agate. In the early morning of November 5, more explosions aboard the Burmah Agate opened several starboard and center tanks. The On-Scene Coordinator and acting Captain of the Port contacted the U.S. Navy Supervisor of Salvage to bring in booms and skimmers with personnel to operate them.

On November 7, the Linda Partain arrived on scene to fight fires along with the Jacob Van Heemskerk and the Seaspan Raider. Goodyear boom was deployed astern of the Burmah Agate. On November 8, only the Linda Partain remained alongside the tanker, applying water to the forward tanks to cool them. The other two tugs had moved away due to explosions. (OSIR 17)

Vessels continued to deploy the Goodyear boom near the Burmah Agate. On November 10, 2,000 feet of Goodyear boom was deployed north of the Burmah Agate to protect the Galveston Channel and Bolivar Peninsula. Booming of the San Luis Pass area was completed with the deployment of 4,000 feet of boom. Oil entrainment was discovered under the booms astern of the tanker.

Boom was deployed in the San Luis Pass area and there was an attempt to deploy a Marco skimmer in that area. A crane from Galveston was necessary to deploy the