Durban - The 9th June marks one of the saddest days in the life of South African shipping line Safmarine for it was on this day 50 years ago that disaster struck one of its managed tankers en route to the Persian Gulf to load oil for Durban.
During the late 1960’s Safmarine had a small fleet of tankers all on charter to various oil majors and the 50,000 ton Thorland only seven yeas old was on time charter to the American oil giant Mobil from whom she’d been bought a few years before.
During 1969 and early 1970 a number of very large tankers had suffered tank explosions whilst cleaning their tanks and this had sparked concern in the oil industry.
Back then oil was relatively cheap for the first major oil crisis did not occur until 1973.
The Thorland mainly carried crude oil and the usual process was for tankers to clean their tanks en route to the next loading port and a particularly thorough clean was required if changing the type of crude oil to be loaded.
A standard tanker construction then was ten rows of three cargo tanks somewhat akin to an ice cube tray in a fridge.
Above the deck was the accommodation with the deck officers catered for in the middle of the ship and the engineer officers and crew aft.
Connecting the two was the flying bridge a small walkway sitting above the main deck allowing movement of personnel between the two quarters.
On the morning of the 9th June 1970 the Thorland was undergoing tank cleaning a process that involved use of a butterworth machine which sprayed cleaning agent and water around the inside of the tank.
Since oil floats on water the residual oil would be collected and pumped into a tank designated for slops whilst the water would be pumped overboard when well out to sea.
At 0935 local time she was heading north about 435 miles off Mombasa.
The chief engineer was inspecting the port side aft winch which had suffered a malfunction and he sent the third engineer aft to get some tools.
The chief officer was with a cadet in the vicinity of the after tanks checking on the progress of tank cleaning. The second officer was on watch on the bridge and a few of the East Pakistani crew were assisting in maintenance and tank cleaning.
Suddenly and without warning the ship exploded.
The damage caused to the Thorland which exploded out at sea and claimed the lives of 9 crewmen of can be seen here. Hundreds of tons of steel over a distance of around two hundred feet were rolled back like a sardine can crashing on top of the midships accommodation crushing the bridge when it exploded. Picture: Supplied.
Hundreds of tons of steel over a distance of around two hundred feet were rolled back like a sardine can crashing on top of the midships accommodation crushing the bridge in which the second officer was on watch.
Tanks adjacent to where the chief officer was standing exploded too creating a space six times the size of an individual tank.
Massive deck plates were heaved up and curled over, a 60ft x 30ft hole was punched into the port side and the starboard side of the ship severely damaged too.
The Thorland started to burn.
The ship went to emergency stations but soon the order was given to shut down engines and abandon ship.
She was steaming at around 12 knots.
In the race to abandon ship the starboard amidships lifeboat would not fall correctly and there was difficulty in getting the crew into one of the after lifeboats.
Sadly the ships butler slipped into the sea and was never seen again.
The officers and crew did their best to get away and after a couple of hours a Swedish ore-bulk oil carrier the Bjorne Ragne came to their assistance.
On the morning of the 9th June 1970 the Thorland was undergoing tank cleaning a process that involved use of a butterworth machine which sprayed cleaning agent and water around the inside of the tank. Pictures Supplied.
A head count revealed out of a compliment of 61, nine men were missing.
A salvage tug the Bremen was called in to assist and the captain of the Thorland took some of the engineers and other officers back on board to see if they could assist in restarting the engines and because obviously an unattended ship of that size would be a serious threat to navigation.
Fortunately the fire soon burned itself out and upon re-boarding the ship the full horror of what had happened was revealed.
The bodies of the second officer and the deck cadet were found along with two of the crewmen and were buried at sea.
The others were missing presumably blown over the side. The ship was in a parlous state and over the next weeks a pitiful drama was played out as she was towed first to Mombasa then to Tanzania and finally Mozambique but no country would allow her entry.
This was particularly traumatic for those relatives back home that had no body and there was just that faint hope that a relative, although gone, might be trapped somewhere.
In the end fate intervened.
On the 25th July the ship broke in two and the majority of the Thorland sank about 8 miles south of Mozambique Island some 22 miles offshore.
The stern half was beached and eventual went to sea again as the tanker Achillet plying most of its trade to Canada.
The Thorland was a happy ship.
Just the previous year the Chief Engineer’s wife and son had spent six happy months sailing from Europe to South Africa then to and from the Persian Gulf.
Everyone got on, from the officers and crew, it was a wonderful experience. But that day will live forever; the tragedy played out to families across the world and for some it brought a pain that can never be extinguished.
Those who lost their lives that date are never forgotten they were:
Gordon Owen Carr; Chief Engineer aged 37 from the Isle of Wight, UK
Peter Leonard Lucas, Chief Officer aged 27 from Northern Ireland, UK
John Richard Meadley, 2nd Officer aged 23 from Manchester, UK
Robert Sinclair, Deck cadet aged 21 from South Africa
C P S Noronha, Butler aged 57 from Portugal.
Amir Sultan, Deck Serang aged 47 from East Pakistan
Faizullah, Pumpman aged 31 from East Pakistan
Kasim Jan; Seaman II aged 29 from East Pakistan
Zoor Mohd Shah; Seaman III aged 22 from East Pakistan
Richard Carr, only child of Kathleen and Gordon Carr
He can be emailed at: [email protected]
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