Marine Electric

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USCG Marine Casualty Report on SS Marine Electric.pdf

The Marine Electric was a 184 m long bulk carrier built by Sun Shipbuilding and entered service in 1944. It sank in 1983. The incident led to improvements in various safety standards.

bad luck

The ship sank in a storm, loaded with coal, on February 12, 1983 off the coast of Virginia , after it had previously given help to a cutter in distress. The cause of the water being taken were dilapidated cargo hatches. Only three sailors survived the 90 minutes in the ice-cold water before a rescue helicopter was able to rescue the people. 31 seamen were killed because protective suits against the cold water were not part of the standard equipment.

causes

The cause of the accident is an investment backlog in the maintenance of the ship. The shipping company Marine Transport Lines had repeatedly delayed the repair of the loading hatches and temporarily filled cracks with insufficient epoxy resin or covered them with welded steel plates. It was found that the American Bureau of Shipping, with inadequate security controls, also helped ensure that the ship's ailing condition was not remedied. As the cargo hatches could no longer be closed tightly, the front cargo holds were full of water during the storm. The bow sank permanently below the water surface within a short time. Due to the unstable position of the ship, it tilted to one side and threatened to overturn. Since the US Coast Guard did not have a trained lifeguard on board the rescue helicopter, the crew, who could no longer climb into a lowered rescue cage on their own , could not be pulled out of the water immediately. Only a lifeguard from the US Navy who arrived later was able to rescue the survivors.

Security Measures Taken

In the wake of the accident, it was mandatory to equip all ships with special survival vests. With these, the team could have stayed in the cold waters of the Atlantic for a longer period of time. The United States Coast Guard launched its own program to train lifeguards for use in cold water and storms as a result of the disaster.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. Jump up ↑ In Distress - The Tragedy of the SS Marine Electric
  2. ^ Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. Office of Response and Restoration: Screening Level Risk Assessment Package. Marine Electric.
  3. ^ USCG Marine Casualty Report on SS Marine Electric
  4. ↑ Rick Spilman, The Old Salt Blog: Remembering the SS Marine Electric - a Tragedy that Made Us All Safer
  5. ↑ boston.com: Here's what's so rare about the El Faro's sinking
  6. ^ Sarah Rousseau, Program Analyst Office of Performance Management and Assessment US Coast Guard: SS Marine Electric: Impetus for the Coast Guard's premiere rescue swimmer program

Coordinates: 37 ° 52 ′ 54 ″  N , 74 ° 46 ′ 35 ″  W.