T/V STAVANGER PRINCE; Plaquemine, Louisiana

Plaquemine, Louisiana | 1991-Mar-20

Initial Notification: On March 20, 1991, the Norwegian tank vessel STAVANGER PRINCE, loaded with 500,000 barrels of heavy Arabian Crude, was moving up the Mississippi River to an EXXON refinery near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The STAVANGER collided with hopper barges (in push arrangement) tended by the motor vessel JOE PAT EKSTEIN at mile marker 209, about 12 miles south of Baton Rouge, next to the village of Plaquemine, Louisiana. The 810-foot STAVANGER received a 4-foot long split in a seam 2 feet above the water line in her #5 starboard cargo tank and released an estimated 924 gallons of Arabian crude into the river. After the collision, STAVANGER moved to an anchorage nearby and the EKSTEIN moved her barges to a position about 2 miles downstream. Reportedly, oil was covering the river bank-to-bank from mile marker 210 to 190. The Federal On-Scene Coordinator from the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Office (MSO) New Orleans closed the river at 0745 for safety reasons and to allow for the unrestricted cleanup of an apparent major oil spill. Plans were made to deploy deflection booms to bring the oil near shore for recovery. USCG district 8.