2000 - Julie.A

On November 4, 1989, the dry cargo ship Julie A reported a leaking tank of hydrochloric acid on board. The ship was at this time moored in the harbour of Århus. The leaking tank was one out of three cylindrical tanks stored in a hold below deck. The leaking tank contained a total of 300 tonnes of 33% hydrochloric acid, which is very corrosive. Hydrochloric acid (Class 8) in cylindrical tanks; watery liquid, corrosive, reacts with sheet-iron forming flammable hydrogen gas; IDLH 50 ppm .When hydrochloric acid reacts with sheet-iron, flammable hydrogen gas is formed. The engines of the ship were therefore shut down. When the responders entered the ship they had to wade through knee-deep hydrochloric acid and they had a visibility of only two metres. They found a 25 mm hole in the tank and they plugged this with a wooden wedge. The acid had eaten its way through the tank as the inappropriate tank coating made of glass-fibre reinforced polyester was not strong enough and was corroded by the hydrochloric acid.
The acid on the floor had also spread into the ballast tank and threatened to reach through the bottom of the ship. After some trouble finding the appropriate equipment to pump the acid into tanks on-shore, the offloading of acid was initiated. However, quite soon the stability of the ship was decreased and it was therefore decided to move the ship to a dry dock. This was done the next day and after that the ship was dried from the acid through a drilled hole in the bottom of the ship. It was estimated that the total amount of hydrochloric acid spilled in the harbour was about 1-5 tonnes

On November 4, 1989, the dry cargo ship Julie A reported a leaking tank of hydrochloric acid on board. The ship was at this time moored in the harbour of Århus. The leaking tank was one out of three cylindrical tanks stored in a hold below deck. The leaking tank contained a total of 300 tonnes of 33% hydrochloric acid, which is very corrosive. Hydrochloric acid (Class 8) in cylindrical tanks; watery liquid, corrosive, reacts with sheet-iron forming flammable hydrogen gas; IDLH 50 ppm .When hydrochloric acid reacts with sheet-iron, flammable hydrogen gas is formed. The engines of the ship were therefore shut down. When the responders entered the ship they had to wade through knee-deep hydrochloric acid and they had a visibility of only two metres. They found a 25 mm hole in the tank and they plugged this with a wooden wedge. The acid had eaten its way through the tank as the inappropriate tank coating made of glass-fibre reinforced polyester was not strong enough and was corroded by the hydrochloric acid.
The acid on the floor had also spread into the ballast tank and threatened to reach through the bottom of the ship. After some trouble finding the appropriate equipment to pump the acid into tanks on-shore, the offloading of acid was initiated. However, quite soon the stability of the ship was decreased and it was therefore decided to move the ship to a dry dock. This was done the next day and after that the ship was dried from the acid through a drilled hole in the bottom of the ship. It was estimated that the total amount of hydrochloric acid spilled in the harbour was about 1-5 tonnes

Although the responders had trouble finding the right equipment, the operation can be considered a success. This incident shows how important it is to have knowledge of the chemicals transported. It is also extremely important to have the right kind of transporting equipment.