Tragedy on board the Alfa America

© Joerg Seyler via ShipSpotting.com

On Thursday 28^th March 1996 a call came through to Humber Coastguard at Bridlington that an incident on board a huge oil tanker off the East Yorkshire coast required urgent assistance. Two people had entered a slop tank for routine checks and had become unresponsive, a call for Humberside Fire and Rescue was made at 2017 Hours and before long a number of rescue parties were making their way to the ship which was at anchor around three miles from Flamborough Head.

The ship was the crude oil supertanker Alfa America (IMO number 7716048), built in 1979 at the Mitsubishi yard in Nagasaki, Japan. Launched as the Nordic Faith, she was renamed Fina America upon her change of owners in 1983 before being sold again to Shinobu Shipping Co Ltd in 1994 where the name Alfa America was emblazoned on her bow. At over 51,000 gross tons, she had a deadweight of 90,000 tons and flew the flag of the Bahamas, carrying a crew from Croatia.

As the fire teams reached the ship by Sea King helicopter, the mine hunter HMS Hurworth also provided assistance as she neared the huge vessel. Providing a platform for teams to work from, the ships company also assisted with teams on Breathing Apparatus to back up the firefighting teams and rig fans for ventilation. As the fire teams made their way into the confined space of the waste tank, oil and waste coating every surface, it soon became apparent that there were both of the missing crew were dead and an RAF firefighter who had attempted a rescue and had become distressed now himself required urgent medical attention. A third crewman who had gone in after the first two was also flow to hospital.

The crew of the Alfa America were informed of the tragedy, but due to the complications of the compartment and the terrible conditions within the tank itself, the ship would have to continue its journey to Teesport (which it was already heading to after departing Hull) in order to get a team on board to recover the bodies. With a heavy heart, the anchor was weighed and the ship proceeded north to a very dismal port visit.

The two bodies were recovered and an investigation showed that it was an accidental overcoming of fumes that had caused the crewmen to lose consciousness in a confined space. The death toll could easily have been higher if it wasn’t for the fact at least one of the fire fighters from Humberside Fire and Rescue had experience working on tankers previously. The crewman and firefighter who were taken to hospital made a full recovery.

Alfa America faded from the news as quick as it had arrived, she was front page of the Yorkshire Post and a few other local papers, other than that very little was written. She was later sold yet again and renamed Alfa Ship (2002-6) and finally Sing Lee which was her final name before being towed to Bangladesh in April 2006 for scrapping. Ironically the deaths of two crewmen just a few miles from Yorkshire made less headlines than the controversy over her scrapping, as an article in the Bangladesh newspaper The Daily Star points out that Greenpeace had listed this ship as a hazard and therefore the Government would refuse to dismantle her due to the presence of toxic materials and environmental waste involved. She was eventually scrapped as planned.