SS Wafra oil spill

History
NameSS Wafra
NamesakeWafra
OwnerGetty Tankers
OperatorOverseas Tankship Corp
Port of registryLiberia
BuilderNagasaki Works, Mitsubishi Shipbuilding and Engineering Co
Launched7 August 1955[1]
Completed1956
Identification1456
FateSunk by South African Air Force on 12 March 1971 to contain an oil spill.
General characteristics
Class and typeOil tanker
Tonnage27,400 GRT (increased to 36,697 GRT or 68,600 DWT in August 1970)[2][3]
Installed power17,600 shaft horsepower (13,100 kW)[1]
PropulsionSteam turbine

The SS Wafra oil spill occurred on 27 February 1971, when SS Wafra, an oil tanker, ran aground while under tow near Cape Agulhas, South Africa. Approximately 200,000 barrels of crude oil were leaked into the ocean.[4][5] The larger part of the ship was refloated, towed out to sea, and then sunk by the South African Air Force to prevent further oil contamination of the coastline.

  1. ^ a b 商船建造の步み. Mitsubishi Zōsen Kabushiki Kaisha. 1959. p. 124.
  2. ^ "South African Shipping News and Fishing Industry Review". 26 (1). Thomson Newspapers. 1971. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. ^ "Casualty List (Casualty ID=19710227_001)". Center for Tankship Excellence. Archived from the original on 15 December 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  4. ^ "Wafra" Archived 17 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Incident News. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
  5. ^ "Cape Agulhas, South Africa: Incident Summary" Archived 10 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Incident News. 27 February 1971. Retrieved 23 December 2011.