SS Esso Brussels
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''Esso Brussels'' was a commercial
oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crud ...
built for the
Esso Esso () is a trading name for ExxonMobil. Originally, the name was primarily used by its predecessor Standard Oil of New Jersey after the breakup of the original Standard Oil company in 1911. The company adopted the name "Esso" (the phonetic p ...
Oil company in 1959. She was involved in a collision in 1973 in which thirteen of her crew perished. She was rebuilt and sailed under various other names until being scrapped in 1985.


Construction and service

She was built at
Kockums Saab Kockums AB is a shipyard headquartered in Malmö, Sweden, owned by the Swedish defence company Saab Group. Saab Kockums AB is further operational in Muskö, Docksta, and Karlskrona. While having a history of civil vessel construction, Koc ...
shipyard in
Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
and launched on 26 October 1959. Following outfitting, she entered commercial service transporting crude and refined oil products for the Esso Oil Company throughout
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
,
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
. Built along classic lines with the
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
and the officer's quarters located
amidships This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water (mostly though not necessarily on the sea). Some remain current, while many date from the 17th t ...
and the engines, crew quarters and aft deckhouse located toward the
stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Ori ...
, Esso Brussels was a typical oil tanker in both size and design for her time.


Collision with the container vessel Sea Witch

The ''Esso Brussels'' dropped
anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄγ ...
in the southernmost
anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...
of
The Narrows __NOTOC__ The Narrows is the tidal strait separating the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It connects the Upper New York Bay and Lower New York Bay and forms the principal channel by which the Hudson Riv ...
in
New York Harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...
on June 1, 1973, fully loaded with of light Nigerian crude oil destined for
Exxon ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...
's
Bayway Refinery Bayway Refinery is a refining facility in the Port of New York and New Jersey, owned by Phillips 66. Located in Linden and Elizabeth, New Jersey, and bisected by Morses Creek, it is the northernmost refinery on the East Coast of the United State ...
. While she waited for the
high tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables can ...
, her mixed European crew of 36 men and one woman, first steward Gisele Rome, under the command of Captain Constant Dert went about their daily routine into the evening of the 1st. When the 12 a.m. to 4 a.m. watch came on duty all seemed normal. At roughly the same time, the
container ship A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermodal ...
''Sea Witch'' left the
Howland Hook Marine Terminal The Howland Hook Marine Terminal, operating as ‘’’GCT New York,’’’ is a container port facility in the Port of New York and New Jersey located at Howland Hook in northwestern Staten Island, New York City. It is situated on the east ...
on
Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
. She headed for the sea, carrying some 730
containers A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping. Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...
on board. Twenty-nine minutes after midnight, the ''Sea Witch'' passed the
ferry terminal A passenger terminal is a structure in a port which services passengers boarding and leaving water vessels such as ferries, cruise ships and ocean liners. Depending on the types of vessels serviced by the terminal, it may be named (for example) ...
at the tip of
St. George, Staten Island St. George is a neighborhood on the northeastern tip of Staten Island in New York City, along the waterfront where the Kill Van Kull enters Upper New York Bay. It is the most densely developed neighborhood on Staten Island, and the location of th ...
and turned to a heading of 167 degrees in order to begin transiting the Narrows separating
Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
from
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
. Seven minutes later the
Sandy Hook Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern en ...
pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
Jack Cahill ordered a change in course to 156 degrees so the ship would pass through the shipping lane in the general anchorage. The second turn never occurred. When the ship did not respond as expected, the
helmsman A helmsman or helm (sometimes driver) is a person who steering, steers a ship, sailboat, submarine, other type of maritime vessel, or spacecraft. The rank and seniority of the helmsman may vary: on small vessels such as fishing vessels and yacht ...
told the
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
that ''Sea Witch'' was no longer steering. Both the captain's and the pilot's attempts to re-engage the steering gear and check the Sea Witch's continuing turn to
starboard Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and aircraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front). Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which are ...
proved futile. With all steering control was lost and the ship proceeding at 15
knots A knot is a fastening in rope or interwoven lines. Knot may also refer to: Places * Knot, Nancowry, a village in India Archaeology * Knot of Isis (tyet), symbol of welfare/life. * Minoan snake goddess figurines#Sacral knot Arts, entertainme ...
with the aid of an outbound
tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravity, gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide t ...
the ''Sea Witch'' was being forced out of the channel toward
Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
. The Pilot immediately ordered the engines to full astern and the port
anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄγ ...
to be let go in an effort to stop the ship. Blowing a series of short rapid blasts on the ship's whistle signaling that ''Sea Witch'' was in distress and ordering the general alarm bell rung to alert the crew, both the pilot and the captain watched as both of her anchors failed to deploy. A mere two and a half minutes after control was lost on board ''Sea Witch'' she was a mere from the starboard side of the ''Esso Brussels'' and realizing that the ship was not going to be able to stop in time, the ''Sea Witchs whistle was locked to sound continuously and her crew abandoned the forward section of the ship. The mate standing what was a quiet and uneventful watch on Esso Brussels's bridge heard Sea Witch's distress whistle and watched as the container ship began to head out of the channel towards his ship. First thinking that the disabled ship would pass astern of his tanker, the Mate sounded the general alarm as the ''Sea Witch'' continued to veer in his direction. With only about two minutes of warning, many of the crew of the ''Esso Brussels'' were still below decks when the collision occurred. Making about 13 knots and her engines in full reverse, ''Sea Witch'' rammed its ice-reinforced bow into the starboard side of the ''Esso Brussels'' between the
midship In automotive engineering, a mid-engine layout describes the placement of an automotive engine, automobile internal combustion engine, engine in front of the rear-wheel axles, but behind the front axle. History The mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive ...
and aft deckhouses, piercing three of the ''Esso Brussels cargo tanks and locking the two ships together. The light crude oil spewed out of the punctured tanks and its vapors quickly caught fire wreathing both ships in a pool of burning oil. Despite the sudden chaos on the ''Esso Brussels'' Capt. Dert supervised the terrified crew as they abandoned the burning ship onto the only available
lifeboat Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen ...
. Having lowered the motorized aft
port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
lifeboat the crew tried to release it from its lines and get its engine started, but the hand crank to start the engine was impossible to operate on the overloaded lifeboat once freed from the ship. Despite the resistance from the anchors of the ''Esso Brussels'', the engines of ''Sea Witch'', still running full reverse, were pulling both ships down the Narrows. This movement created a suction force which pinned the ''Esso Brussels lifeboat against the tanker's hull and brought the pool of flaming oil around to the
port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
side of the ship. A last-second attempt to row the lifeboat away from the advancing fire failed to overpower the suction, and as the flames grew nearer to the lifeboat, many of the crew jumped into the water in a desperate attempt to escape the flames. Within minutes of the collision the veteran
FDNY The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), is an American department of the government of New York City that provides fire protection services, technical rescue/special operations services, ...
fireboat ''Fire Fighter'' arrived to what the firefighters aboard would later describe as a sea of flames that extended 3,000 yards in front of them. Thinking there had been an explosion on the ''Esso Brussels'', the
fireboat A fireboat or fire-float is a specialized watercraft with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard fires. The first fireboats, dating to the late 18th century, were tugboats, retrofitted with firefighting equipmen ...
began to pour water onto the ship from its starboard bow, keeping their ship
upwind Windward () and leeward () are terms used to describe the direction of the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point of reference ...
and upcurrent from the smoke and flames now heading towards the
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge ( ) is a suspension bridge connecting the New York City boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn. It spans the Narrows, a body of water linking the relatively enclosed New York Harbor with Lower New York Bay and th ...
. As the two ships passed beneath the bridge, the pool of burning oil surrounding the ships sent flames high enough to scorch the bottom of the bridge above the water's surface. Fortunately, the anchor chains on the ''Esso Brussels'' parted at this point and both ships passed under the bridge quickly, preventing the steel from suffering heat damage. Propelled by the ''Sea Witch''s still-running engines and the outbound tide, the ships proceeded into outer
New York Harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...
and ran
aground Ship grounding or ship stranding is the impact of a ship on seabed or waterway side. It may be intentional, as in beaching to land crew or cargo, and careening, for maintenance or repair, or unintentional, as in a marine accident. In accidenta ...
in
Gravesend Bay Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Rochester, it is the ...
, burning furiously. After both ships grounded, ''Fire Fighter'' moved into position and fought the oil fire from the port side of ''Esso Brussels''. To their horror, as they extinguished the fire they saw the bow of ''Sea Witch'' was embedded in the starboard side and realized that two vessels were involved in the inferno. Moving quickly along the port side of the container ship they began to pour water on the blazing container stack of the ''Sea Witch'' and moved toward its stern, hoping to find some evidence of the ship's crew, 30 of whom were rescued from the stern of the ship. At dawn on June 2, 1973, the fires from the oil cargo on board the ''Esso Brussels'' were mostly under control, aided by her sound construction which prevented the oil in her undamaged tanks from leaking out or catching fire. Sea Witch was in much worse condition, as almost all the on-deck containers were still burning. The
US Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi ...
and FDNY agreed to have tugs separate the vessels to avoid the risk of the rest of the oil aboard the ''Esso Brussels'' catching fire. Once separated, the four FDNY fireboats easily extinguished what little oil continued to burn and the
hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...
of the Esso Brussels was towed to the
Military Ocean Terminal at Bayonne Military Ocean Terminal at Bayonne (MOTBY) was a U.S. military ocean terminal located in the Port of New York and New Jersey which operated from 1967 to 1999. From 1942 to 1967 the site was the Bayonne Naval Drydock. The site is on Upper New Yor ...
to have the balance of her oil cargo removed onto
barges Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by Pusher (boat) ...
for delivery. By this time, tugs and small craft managed to rescue the ''Esso Brussels'' survivors from the water, but 13 of her crew were lost and never seen again. Two members of the ''Sea Witchs crew were lost below decks, unable to escape the fire and heat.


Later life

In the months following the collision the severely damaged ''Esso Brussels'' remained at the
Military Ocean Terminal Military Ocean Terminals are operated by the U.S. Army Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC) for distribution of surface cargo from storage and repair depots to military forward based units. Current facilities * Military Ocean Terminal ...
until November 1973, when she was purchased by Iphigenia Shipping & Trading Co,
Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...
,
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
. ''Esso Brussels'' was towed to Piraeus to be rebuilt. Emerging from the
shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...
in 1973, the newly named ''Petrola XVII'' was placed under the management of John D Latsis. In 1974, she was renamed ''Spiro'', then ''Petrola XXXVI'' in 1975, when she was sold to Latsis. In 1976, she was sold back to Iphigenia Shipping & Trading and was renamed ''Petrola 36''. In 1983, management was transferred to Bilinder Marine Corp. ''Petrola 36'' served until 1985, arriving on 21 October at
Aliağa Aliağa is a town and a district of Izmir Province in the Aegean Region of Turkey. The town is situated at about north of Izmir. Aliağa has a large port, mainly for oil and bulk cargo. Its economic activity is based on tourism, shipbreaking, ...
,
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 ...
for scrapping.


References


Auke Visser's Esso Tanker's site

USCG Casualty Report


External links



{{DEFAULTSORT:Esso Brussels, SS 1959 ships Ships built in Malmö Merchant ships of Belgium Oil tankers Maritime incidents in 1963 Maritime incidents in 1973 Ship fires Ships of ExxonMobil ExxonMobil oil spills Merchant ships of Greece