SS C. V. SEA WITCH - SS ESSO BRUSSELS (BELGIUM); COLLISION AND FIRE IN NEW YORK HARBOR ON 2 JUNE 1973 WITH LOSS OF LIFE. MARINE CASUALTY REPORT

On 2 June 1973, the SS C.V. SEA WITCH lost steering control in New York harbor. The ship moved out of the channel and struck and penetrated the anchored Belgian tankship SS ESSO BRUSSELS which was loaded with crude oil. The 31,000 barrels of oil from three ruptured tanks ignited and the resulting fire engulfed both ships. The master and two crewmembers died aboard the SEA WITCH. The master and ten crewmembers of the ESSO BRUSSELS died after abandoning ship, one crewmember died aboard ship, and one crewmember is missing. Some nearby beaches were polluted, and damage to the ships and cargo amounted to about $23 million. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause was a mechanical failure in the steering system of the SEA WITCH and the lack of adequate and timely action by the crew to control their ship after the failure occurred. The cause of the loss of steering was the deficient design of the system which did not provide 'two separate and independent steering control systems' as required by 46 CFR 58.25. The cause of the fire, pollution, and deaths after the collision was that the typically designed bow of the SEA WITCH penetrated the hull of the ESSO BRUSSELS instead of absorbing the crash energy.

• Corporate Authors:

  National Transportation Safety Board

  800 Independence Avenue, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20594

  United States Coast Guard

  2100 Second Street, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20593
• Publication Date: 1975-12-17

Media Info

• Pagination: 74 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bows; Casualties; Containerships; Control systems; Crash investigation; Crashes; Failure; Fires; Hulls; Loss and damage; Mechanical failure; Oil spills; Oils; Pendulum tests; Petroleum products; Ships; Steering; Tankers; Water transportation crashes
• Uncontrolled Terms: Ship fires; Ship hulls
• Geographic Terms: New York (State)
• Old TRIS Terms: Collision damage protection; Ship bows; Ss c.v. sea witch; Ss esso brussels; Steering failure; Tanker collisions
• Subject Areas: Marine Transportation; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00094456
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: USCG-NTSB-MAR-75-6
• Files: NTIS, TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 21 1978 12:00AM