2000 - Castor

Narrative:
At 8.30 pm on December 30 2000, a smell of gasoline was detected on board the Cyprus-flagged product tanker CASTOR .The vessel, was on a laden voyage carrying a cargo of 29,500 tonnes of unleaded gasoline from Constantza to West Africa when, after having encountered extremely severe weather conditions between 26 and 31 December 2000, sustained, on 1 January 2001 , a transverse crack amidships in way of cargo tank No.4 (the vessel has 8 cargo tanks, each divided in port, centre and starboard, hence 24 tanks in total). Her position at the time was off the Morocco coast. Morocco ordered the ship to stay outside her territorial waters. When proceeding on a northerly heading, the crew were taken off the ship by Spanish SAR. Following earlier exchange of communications between the Moroccan authorities and REMPEC regarding the casualty, on 3 January, the Moroccan authorities requested from REMPEC information on the product and on the behaviour of the product (unleaded gasoline) in the event of the spillage. On 4 January 2001 , REMPEC provided the Moroccan authorities with information on the response measures to be taken, behaviour of dispersed gasoline in water
(evaporation, dissolution etc) using the ADIOS model developed by the Hazardous Materials Response and Assessment of NOAA and chemical data information on unleaded gasoline. The latter was obtained by making use of the ICE network, specifically through BASF's Fire Department (Ludwigshafen,Germany).

Narrative:
At 8.30 pm on December 30 2000, a smell of gasoline was detected on board the Cyprus-flagged product tanker CASTOR .The vessel, was on a laden voyage carrying a cargo of 29,500 tonnes of unleaded gasoline from Constantza to West Africa when, after having encountered extremely severe weather conditions between 26 and 31 December 2000, sustained, on 1 January 2001 , a transverse crack amidships in way of cargo tank No.4 (the vessel has 8 cargo tanks, each divided in port, centre and starboard, hence 24 tanks in total). Her position at the time was off the Morocco coast. Morocco ordered the ship to stay outside her territorial waters. When proceeding on a northerly heading, the crew were taken off the ship by Spanish SAR. Following earlier exchange of communications between the Moroccan authorities and REMPEC regarding the casualty, on 3 January, the Moroccan authorities requested from REMPEC information on the product and on the behaviour of the product (unleaded gasoline) in the event of the spillage. On 4 January 2001 , REMPEC provided the Moroccan authorities with information on the response measures to be taken, behaviour of dispersed gasoline in water
(evaporation, dissolution etc) using the ADIOS model developed by the Hazardous Materials Response and Assessment of NOAA and chemical data information on unleaded gasoline. The latter was obtained by making use of the ICE network, specifically through BASF's Fire Department (Ludwigshafen,Germany).

Response:
The vessel was ordered to steer well clear of several Mediterranean countries' territorial waters and to abide by a 30 nautical miles limit.
The crew were taken off the ship by Spanish SAR.
A salvage contractor was hired by the shipowner. Ship remained under tug escort for over 40 days.
REMPEC provided the Moroccan authorities with information on response measures to be taken in case of the spillage of the product.
The Mediterranean Assistance Unit (MAU ) was alerted by the Director of REMPEC.
During the crisis, consultative meetings were held on the initiative of the flag State (Cyprus) and a Mediterranean coastal State (Malta) . REMPEC was requested to attend and REMPEC's representatives participated in both meetings.
A ship-to-ship transfer of the gasoline cargo took effect successfully in good weather conditions off the Tunisian coast .
All the Mediterranean coastal states which were requested to offer refuge to the vessel in sheltered waters refused to provide this kind of assistance.