Athenian Venture; Canada, southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland

Canada, southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland | 1988-Apr-22

Initial Notification: Early on April 22, 1988, the tanker Athenian Venture was found by the Canadian research vessel Hudson 400 miles southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland. The Athenian Venture had apparently experienced a violent explosion as it was broken in two and on fire. The Athenian Venture had been en route from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to New York, New York, with a cargo of approximately 250,000 barrels of unleaded gasoline on board. The vessel was drifting at 40 38 N, 051 09 W, and the bow and aft sections were approximately two miles apart when found. The bow section sank at 1400 on April 22. The aft section continued to drift on fire for the next 7 weeks, finally sinking on June 17 about 200 miles from the Azores. Keyword: Explosion, fire, sinking, evaporation..