MT ''Unirea'' (

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language ** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...

''Union'') was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n-flagged crude oil carrier, one of the biggest ships of the Romanian commercial fleet. She broke up and sank in 1982 in the

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n waters of the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

, south-south east of the

Cape Kaliakra Kaliakra ( bg, Калиакра; ro, Caliacra) is a cape in the Southern Dobruja region of the northern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, which ends with a long and narrow headland east of Kavarna, northeast of Varna and southwest of Mangalia. The ...

at a depth of after a mysterious explosion. The crew totalled 43 members of which 42 were rescued by Romanian and

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

boats. The sinking of ''Unirea'' was classified by

Lloyd's List ''Lloyd's List'' is one of the world's oldest continuously running journals, having provided weekly shipping news in London as early as 1734. It was published daily until 2013 (when the final print issue, number 60,850, was published), and is ...

as the largest ship accident of 1982.

Investigations

The exact cause of accident is unknown but official reports suggest that during a vapor evacuation of the central number 3 tank an explosive mixture formed alongside the evacuation hole that could have been ignited by multiple sources but especially electrostatic energy. The explosion of the central number 3 tank had a devastating effect on the integrity of the ship triggering a series of explosions that destroyed the separating wall of the central and starboard tanks favoring the expansion of the volatile elements across the ship. The fire that followed also contributed to the vertical breaking of the ship's shell and the eventual sinking. Other official reports claim that the accident was caused by a collision with a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

mine. A different opinion (unofficial) came from some naval architects and marine engineers stating that the ship broke up because of incorrect ballasting (the ship had no cargo at the time of the accident). The Romanian shipping company "Navrom" claimed the insurance payout, amounting to US$36.6 million. This action resulted in a thorough inspection of the ship's wreck by independent survey teams, employed by the insurance company from

Lloyd's Register Lloyd's Register Group Limited (LR) is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research and education in science and ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. As the inspection did not reveal any major faults in construction, the insurance was finally paid.

Rescue operations

The rescue operation was coordinated from the Bulgarian shore and involved eight Romanian ships, ''Motru'' , ''Tg. Bujor'' , ''Mărășești'' , ''Căciulata'' , ''Gostinul'' , ''Grădiștea'' , ''Toplița'' and the ''Voinicul'' tugboat, five

n ships, ''Perun'', ''Rusalka'', ''Icar'', ''Europa'', and ''Kiten'', two

ships, ''Ianghi Iuli'' and ''Gordelivi'', and rescue helicopters from Romania and Bulgaria. The Romanian ships ''Motru'' and ''Tg. Bujor'' each rescued 18 crew members, the Soviet ship ''Ianhghi Iuli'' rescued 5 and the last crew member, Gabriel Georgescu, was rescued by a Bulgarian helicopter after staying eight hours in the cold waters of the

. The only casualty was the ship's waitress Elena Ganță.

Sister ships

M/T ''Unirea'' was the second of a series of five Romanian supertankers that were constructed by the

Constanța Shipyard Constanța Shipyard ( ro, Șantierul Naval Constanța) is the largest shipyard in Romania and one of the largest in Europe having a market share of 20% in the Black Sea basin. The shipyard has two drydocks, one used for the construction of shi ...

in the 1980s. The sister ships were as follows: M/T ''Independența'' (''Independence'') - collided in 1979 with a freighter at the southern entrance of

Bosphorus The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and exploded. She caught fire and grounded. Almost all of the tanker's crew members died. The wreck of the ''Independența'' burned for weeks causing heavy air and sea pollution in the

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

area and the

Sea of Marmara The Sea of Marmara,; grc, Προποντίς, Προποντίδα, Propontís, Propontída also known as the Marmara Sea, is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via the ...

. M/T ''Biruința'' (''Triumph'') - Owned and managed by the then Romanian state-owned shipping company, Navrom. In the 1990s the ship was passed to the Romanian private shipping company Petromin, changing its name to M/T ''Iris Star''. ''Iris Star'' lost power because of engine failure during a passage through the Bosphorus on 27 July 2000, and drifted towards Kandilli point. There was no extensive damage reported. Finally the ship was bought by the Romanian shipping company Histria Shipmanagement having its name changed again to M/T ''Histria Crown''. The ship was finally decommissioned in 2006 after more than 20 years of service. M/T ''Libertatea'' (''Liberty'') - had the same history (including ownership) as her older sister M/T ''Biruinţa'' with the only exception that the ship is still in operation under the name M/T ''Histria Prestige''. M/T ''Pacea'' (''Peace'') - was never fully completed. At the end of the 1980s it was passed to

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

as a part of Romania's foreign debt.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Unirea Maritime incidents in 1982 Ship fires Oil tankers Ships of Romania Shipwrecks in the Black Sea 1980 ships Ships built in Romania 1982 in Bulgaria