On December 3, 1992, the Greek Oil Tanker Aegean Sea approached the port of La Coruña in Northern
Spain, but the rough seas of the Galician Coast proved too much for the old ship.
Winds of up to 58 miles per hour and waves that reached as high as 10 meters deviated its course,
and as the 856-foot vessel crashed into the rocks, an immense explosion ensued.
Not only did the blast put the lives of the crew at risk,
but its cargo of 550,000 barrels of crude oil immediately began to spill into the sea,
threatening to cause an environmental catastrophe...
State of Emergency
In December of 1992, the Greek Oil Tanker Aegean Sea received permission to approach
the Repsol refinery eight miles from La Coruña, Spain, at Ría de Ares.
The ship would deliver a cargo of 550,000 barrels of crude oil.
The Aegean Sea, built in the 1970s, was coming from Sullom Voe in Scotland
and had undergone all required revisions and tests to perform its duty.
The crew aboard the vessel included 15 Greek crewmen, 14 Filipino sailors,
and Captain Stavridis Konstadinos.
As the ship approached the facilities at 5 am, the forceful winds and waves veered it off course.
The extreme weather conditions also rendered visibility under 100 meters.
The 856-foot vessel collided near the Tower of Hercules, the oldest known lighthouse in
existence, and its double hull couldn’t protect its valuable shipment from the sharp rocks at
the cliff’s seabed. The high waves hit the wrecked ship, cracking it open and breaking several tanks.
Rescue air and sea patrols arrived promptly, and desperate exchanges could be heard on the radio:
[QUOTE] “Hey, this is a powder keg, huh? There is a gruntload of gases here!”
“I know! I know! Have the ship abandoned immediately!”
Rescue Operation
Harbor practitioner Rodolfo García was the first responder and soon came on board.
Meanwhile, a rescue helicopter began lifting the crew in groups of two,
with rescue member Juan Belijar securing the castaways on the ship’s deck before liftoff.
As tensions increased, two desperate men pounced on Belijar, demanding to be the first to go.
The rescuer had to force them into the ground, asking for calm.
By 10 am, as two men were hanging from the helicopter 50 meters above the Aegean Sea, the
tanker exploded, went into flames, and released a massive cloud of thick, dark smoke into the air.
The Captain, assistant García, and five remaining sailors were still on the bridge.
Shock waves sucked the helicopter back, but pilot Jose Ortiz was
able to maneuver the aircraft and took the two frightened sailors to safety.
Konstadinos and García made their way to the stern and convinced the remaining men to jump into the
water. As they went in, the strong tides kept pushing them towards the ship’s burning hull.
Rescuer Juan Belijar had been thrown away by the shockwave, but upon regaining consciousness,
he jumped into the water as well.
A Red Cross rescue boat struggled to find the survivors and bravely entered the oil stain.
The rescuers’ efforts paid off, and all crew members were recovered, including the rescue team.
Nelijar would later recall how he felt safe the moment saltwater, not oil, splashed on his face.
The Extent of the Damage
The nearby city of La Coruña had to be evacuated due to the hazardous smoke,
and heavy vehicles were banned from the streets the next morning.
The Aegean Sea had exploded in half and spilled 67,000 tonnes of light crude oil into the sea.
Part of the ship remained above the water, and the stern tanks were intact. It burned for 5 days.
The oil in the sea was pumped and 5,000 cubic meters were collected,
while 1,200 cubic meters of polluted sand and debris were treated for oil.
However, a helicopter overflying the area to map the damage extent
reported that the currents and wind had pushed the oil as far as 300 kilometers from the coastline.
The Greenpeace organization later stated: (QUOTE) “Judging by previous experience,
a full clean-up is practically impossible.”
The ecosystem was heavily damaged, as were the vital fishing and tourism industries.
The morning after the accident, oil was already covering the nearby beaches
and entering the seawater inlets where most seafood farming takes place.
Juan Lopez, the spokesman for fishing and seafood farmer guilds in the area,
denounced the lax safety conditions of the port: [QUOTE] “The existence of a petrol depot
in a city with 300,000 inhabitants is madness [...] The refinery will put an end to fishing.”
Investigations
Due to pollution concerns, the Fisheries Council banned all fishing activities
until further notice. Meanwhile, the Council’s fishermen’s assistance provided some compensation,
but it did not cover the entire loss, estimated at 3.53 million dollars.
187-million dollar worth of civil lawsuits against the Captain and the shipowners
was issued to the Spanish Court, most of which were settled in under a decade.
The civil governor's office’s spokesman stated: (QUOTE) “In the maritime world,
whoever pollutes pays.” Still, it was unclear who was to legally blame for the accident,
whether the Aegean Sea Trades Corporation or the Greek Firm Coulouthros, which Repsol contracted.
Eventually, the International Oil Pollution Compensation, the Spanish Government,
and the ship’s owner came to an agreement. The last payment was made in December of 2003.
Spanish newspapers later reported that the vessel had approached the Repsol depot without
a harbor pilot on board. The assigned pilot was unable to reach the ship before it ran aground,
but he claimed to have been in contact with the Captain during the whole process.
Captain Stavridis Konstadinos and the pilot were criminally liable for negligence and failure to
follow regulations. The 43-year-old Captain was arrested and taken before a local judge,
but he was bailed out after a month in detention.
Three years later, Konstadinos was judged and absolved in Greece.
He never accepted being processed by Spanish Authorities, arguing: (QUOTE) “I do not want
to be condemned to six years in jail for events which are not to be blamed on me or my crew.”
The rusting Aegean Sea still lies at the feet of the Hercules’s cliffs.
Please share your thoughts in the comments below whether you think
the Captain was to blame or if he was a victim of the severe winter weather.
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