M/V Athos I; Delaware River, NJ/PA

Delaware River, NJ/PA | 2004-Nov-27

Initial Notification: At approximately 9:30 p.m. on November 26, 2004, the M/T Athos I, a 750-foot tanker, hit one (or more) obstructions in the Delaware River near Philadelphia, PA. A 15-foot curved piece of pipe was ultimately found with the assistance of the NOAA Navigation Response Team. After further examination, the hull showed evidence that the ship may have hit more than one object. The tanker, registered in Cyprus, was carrying 325,000 barrels (13.6 million gallons) of heavy crude oil from Venezuela. The collision(s) created three holes, the largest a 6-foot by 2-foot tear in the hull that breached a center cargo tank and port side water ballast tank, releasing approximately 264,000 gallons. After the incident, a review of PORTS tide level recordings showed the collision(s) occurred at maximum spring low tide. The oil from the ruptured tank spread down river, ultimately oiling 57 miles of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware shorelines. The spill closed the Delaware River to commercial vessel traffic for over a week. Submerged oil resulted in contamination of water intakes and the closure of the Salem Nuclear Power Plant.