MV ''Kowloon Bridge'' was a ore-bulk-oil combination carrier built by

Swan Hunter Swan Hunter, formerly known as Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, is a shipbuilding design, engineering, and management company, based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. At its apex, the company represented the combined forces of three powe ...

in 1973. She sank off the coast of the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

in December 1986.

History

The MV ''Kowloon Bridge'' was built on the River Tees by Swan Hunter for the

Bibby Line Bibby Line is a UK company concerned with shipping and marine operations. Its parent company, Bibby Line Group Limited, can be traced back to John Bibby who founded the company in 1807. The company along with the group is based in Liverpool. ...

and originally named ''English Bridge''. In 1977, the vessel was renamed ''Worcestershire'', as the fourth vessel to carry that name in the Bibby Line fleet. In 1979, the vessel was sold to Amroth Investments and renamed ''Sunshine''. The vessel was renamed a further three times, before then becoming known as ''Kowloon Bridge''. The vessel's last voyage was between Sept-Îles,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada, headed for the River Clyde with a cargo of iron ore and oil. On 20 November 1986, she anchored in

Bantry Bay Bantry Bay ( ga, Cuan Baoi / Inbhear na mBárc / Bádh Bheanntraighe) is a bay located in County Cork, Ireland. The bay runs approximately from northeast to southwest into the Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately 3-to-4 km (1.8-to-2.5 mil ...

after developing deck cracking in one of her frames during her Atlantic crossing. She was forced to leave port after losing her anchor and damaging her steering gear to avoid colliding with an oil tanker also anchored in Bantry Bay.

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

helicopters rescued the crew and the ''Kowloon Bridge'' was effectively abandoned with her engine running astern, heading away from the Irish coast. A tugboat that tried to reach her had to abandon the salvage attempt after she too sustained storm damage. The wind turned her around and she headed back towards the coast, nearly entering Baltimore Bay when her propeller hit the rocks, stalling the engine. Within hours, ''Kowloon Bridge'' drifted east and ran aground on a submerged reef near The Stags rocks off

West Cork West Cork ( ga, Iarthar Chorcaí) is a tourist region and municipal district in County Cork, Ireland. As a municipal district, West Cork falls within the administrative area of Cork County Council, and includes the towns of Bantry, Castletownber ...

in the Republic of Ireland. The resulting fuel spill spread out over the Irish coastline causing extensive damage to local wildlife, and financial losses for the local fishing fleet. In the spring of 1987, ''Kowloon Bridge'' split into three sections and sank.

References

External links

Center for Tankship Excellence
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kowloon Bridge Shipwrecks in the Celtic Sea County Cork Maritime incidents in 1986 1986 in Ireland 1972 ships Ships built by Swan Hunter Engineering failures Ore-bulk-oil carriers

History

See also

References

External links