30 years ago: The huge oil tanker crash off East Yorkshire that was close to being one of UK's worst ever disasters, 16 Pinoy seamen on board

The huge oil tanker crash off East Yorkshire that was close to being one of UK's worst ever disasters
Angus Young, Debbie Hall, Adam Cresswell, Mike Fox, Dan Kemp 13 OCT 2019

A major ecological disaster was averted on our doorstep after the Phillips Oklahoma and Fiona crashed

Lady luck was believed to have helped in averting a major ecological disaster when a 21-mile oil slick was kept away from East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire beaches 30 years ago.

At 4.54am on September 18, 1989, just off the East Yorkshire coast, there was a huge collision between the Liberian – registered ‘Phillips Oklahoma’ - and the Maltese registered ‘Fiona’.

The crash was believed to have been caused by the weekend's high tides, swelled by a recent heavy rain, with oversight from one of the captains which led to the collision.

It sparked a major rescue operation, with heroic acts of bravery by crews tasked with ensuring those on board were safe.

But the crash saw thousands of tons of oil spill into the North Sea - which threatened to make its way onto the East Yorkshire coastline and ruin the region's wildlife.

Nearly 100,000 tons of oil involved

The Oklahoma, carrying 52,000 tons of crude oil, collided with the Fiona (carrying 46,500 tons of crude), which was already at anchor five miles from Spurn Point near the Humber Lightfloat just before 5am.

The Phillips Oklahoma was holed in the collision and both vessels caught fire almost immediately; the slick also caught fire for a time. Amazingly, no-one was injured.

The crash sparked a fireball on the Oklahoma, which spewed 500 tonnes of oil into the sea from a 20 foot gash in her side. At the time of the collision, visibility was reported to be three miles. The only navigational hazard was an above average high tide, causing strong currents and heavy wash from the Humber.

Humber Harbourmaster Captain Douglas Thomas said: "The Phillips Oklahoma was coming into the same anchorage but, unfortunately she got too close to the Fiona. You have got to bear in mind that it was a very strong tide – one of the biggest of the year. This would make it more difficult to manoeuvre".

A high tide warning had been issued by the Met Office on the previous day’s afternoon and the tide itself was three metres above that prediction.

"Such a tide would have created an additional navigational hazard and the recent rainfall caused a lot of fresh water to go down the Humber to add to the tide," said a Humber Coastguard spokesman.

An investigation by the department of transport was launched immediately.

Royal Navy rescues Oklahoma's bosun

A rescue helicopter from the RAF Leconfield supervised the evacuation operations onto the Humber Lifeboat.

Two firefighting tugs, the ‘Lady Stephanie’ and the ‘Lady Susan’, took four fire crews to the scene to tackle the blazes. They joined an effort including the fire fighting tug / offshore supply ship ‘Stirling Tern’ to direct hoses onto the stricken oil tanker.

A Royal Navy Minesweeper, HMS Middleton (a Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel) under the command of Lt. Cdr. Keith Riches was diverted from NATO exercises to oversee the operation.

The Oklahoma’s bosun, Leonardo Pereira, was thrown into the sea by the force of the impact but was later picked up unhurt by HMS Middleton.

Lt. Cdr. Riches explained: "As we slowed between the two vessels a lookout heard a shout from the sea and saw a man float past on the port side. We recovered the man, who had been in the water for about 25 minutes and was in a state of shock."

He added that the warmer seasonal waters had helped the bosun but he would probably not have survived for another 20 minutes.

Seventeen crew were taken from the Oklahoma by the Humber Lifeboat whilst the remaining nine stayed on board to supervise firefighting in the ships engine room and accommodation area.

The Oklahoma was reported to be badly holed with a 20 foot gash in the forward starboard slop tank, which has a 1,500 cubic metre capacity, two metres above the waterline.

The Fiona, carrying 46,500 tons of fuel oil, had been anchored for more than a week awaiting a berth at Immingham. Her 30 man predominantly Spanish crew stayed on board during the drama.
RAF Leconfield scrambled

A North Humberside helicopter pilot told of the chaotic scenes in the immediate aftermath of the incident. Rescuers from RAF Leconfield scrambled as soon as the mayday was sounded, with flames and were visible five miles from the scene.

Squadron Leader Nick Hibberd said: "There was a huge hole in the side of the Oklahoma, from which ignited oil was gushing into the Humber. You could see the flames from miles away and the trail of burning oil must have been at least half a mile long, it looked very dramatic.

"It was astonishing that no-one was injured, the river strewn with ships queuing up to dock at the Humber ports. The whole river was crowded near the scene of the collision and many vessels were acting as rescue craft.

"We put a winch-man down on the Oklahoma to speak to the crew to ensure no essential crew could get off as quickly as possible."

Sqn. Ldr. Hibberd said although the fire and smoke were thick, it was clear that neither vessel in danger of sinking. Anti-pollution teams from the Department of Transport tackled the slick from tugs and the air in specially adapted Dakotas.

RAF helicopters from Northumberland and Norfolk were also supervising at the scene. The fire from the slick and on-board the Oklahoma could be seen from the shore, together with huge plumes of smoke.

A fire brigade spokesman said the blaze aboard the Fiona was quickly extinguished. Her 30 man crew remained aboard during the incident.
Blazes finally out after 5 hours

After five hours, the fires on the Oklahoma and on the slick were reported to be out, with both vessels at anchor.

"A Marine Pollution Control Unit plane identified the slick as being a rainbow sheen of oil, which means that it is likely to be a thin slick rather than a thick one," said a Department of Transport spokesman.

"As the slop tank on the vessel has been holed, I would expect the leak to be one of oil and water mixed together, which would coat the surface instead of causing a thick deposit in the sea."

Drizzling rain was failing at the time of the incident. A Humber Coastguard Spokesman said visibility was three miles. Fire officers were aboard both vessels by midday where they liaised with the two captains over safety procedures.
Huge oil slick

The slick was reported 10 miles east of Easington with two tails of residue stretching over 18 miles from the slick centre.

Experts at the time said the pollution threat to wildlife reserves on the Humberside coast would remain for a considerable time.

Wildlife groups were bracing themselves for what could have still been a horrific event for Humberside’s teeming bird population. Particularly at risk were the Humber Estuary mud flats, used a feeding ground for scores of different bird species migrating south for the winter.

"It would be a very significant problem if the mudflats were affected," said John Rayner, chairman of the North Humberside branch of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. The trust ran the bird reserve at Spurn Point and worked closely with the Yorkshire Naturalists Union on monitoring bird populations.

"If the birds feeding grounds are affected that could involve far more birds than an ordinary shorecontamination. The birds feed on the thousands of tiny animals that live in the mud and if the area were covered in oil the birds would swallow it.

"Spurn Point is a staging post for birds flying from Scotland to Europe – the effects would be huge."
Factors prevented a massive explosion and disastrous pollution

Humber Harbourmaster, Captain Douglas Thomas, said the accident had the potential to be one of the worst disasters of Britain’s shores.

But fortunately, combination of factors prevented a massive explosion and disastrous pollution.

Wildlife was saved thanks to the weather, with the wind turning southerly which helped push the slick northwards, away from the coastline, where it eventually broke up.

And Cpt Thomas said it was incredibly fortuitous the collision was not bigger.

"It is very fortunate that the tank that ruptured on the Phillips Oklahoma was a slop tank, not the actual oil cargo," he said.

The vessel also had its cargo tanks covered with nitrogen blankets as a precaution against fire, which lessened the extent of the blaze which erupted after the collision.

A fire at a haulage yard in Immingham port, where the Fiona was meant to be, had put a refinery out of action, making it impossible to accept incoming cargos of oil.

"The Fiona would not have been there otherwise," said Capt. Thomas.
Aftermath

Over the next 48 hours over 70 tonnes of oil dispersing chemicals would be sprayed by aircraft flying over the slick zone. By September 20, it was reported that the spoil had been reduced to two patches of oil sheen, 11 miles offshore near Hornsea.

Despite claims of success in the breaking up of the slick, there were still some marine casualties.

On the day after the crash, birds were being cared for by volunteers in Withernsea who specialised in cleaning birds affected by oil.

Joe and Kath Speck, of Arthur Street, reported that some birds which venture well out to sea were coming back with signs of oil pollution. Their first cases included a baby puffin and a guillemot both washed up at Spurn Point, coated in oil.

The Fiona was shortly after towed to Immingham whilst the Phillips Oklahoma, after a pumping operation to remove oil from her tanks, was later towed by tugs from United Towing to Rotterdam for repairs.
‘Display of remarkable courage’

A touching letter was received by the crew of the Spurn Lifeboat, the ‘Kenneth Thelwall’, under Superintendent Coxswain Brian Bevan, thanking him and the crew of their bravery on the day.

It was sent by the UK ambassador for the Philippines, Mr. Tomas Syquia, for their part in the operation to rescue 16 Filipino crewmen from the Phillips Oklahoma.

He said the operation by the Lifeboat crew was "a display of remarkable courage and concern for human life" and offered the gratitude of the Philippine Government and people, the crew members and their families.

It was one of the first boats at the scene and carried the 16 crew members to a ferry so it could return to the scene. Mr. Bevan said the oil fire was one of the worst he had ever seen at sea and was visible five miles away.

He added that the letter was a total surprise. ‘It was totally unexpected," he said.

"But it was very nice of the ambassador to write to us and much appreciated."

The other members of the lifeboat crew were Ian Firman, Robert White, Jack Essex, Leslie Roberts and Paul Ward.
The firemen’s bill

Another story broke in the November of 1989 when Humberside County Councillors backed the Humberside Fire Brigade when it submitted a bill for their involvement in the incident.

Twenty two firemen took part in a gruelling 11 hour operation and attended the incident despite the fact that it was technically outside the Humberside fire services area of responsibility. Councillors agreed that there was no statutory duty to send Humberside firefighters – although there was a moral ground.

They agreed the bill for £7,600 should be submitted to United Towing, the company which had responsibility for salvaging the Phillips Oklahoma. The amount covered paying firefighters on an hourly basis and would also cover any damage to brigade apparatus during the operation.
Investigation

An investigation into the incident was published on December 7, 1990. It found the Italian captain of the Phillips Oklahoma made serious errors in judgement on that morning which allowed his vessel to be pushed sideways onto the bow of the Fiona.

He tried to turn the 200 metre long Liberian Oklahoma ship to push up into the strong tide on that weekend.

Moments before the two ships collided the captain ordered two course changes to achieve this but it left his ship broadside onto the tide, which was pushing her inexorably down onto the Fiona, spilling 5,000 barrels of oil into the North Sea. He had his Masters license suspended for 12 months.

It also recommended that the Second Mate be severely censured for failings in his duties in providing the captain with details of tides and the relation of the Fiona to their position.

Ironically the same tide and weather conditions which played a part in the collision also played a part in saving the East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire coastlines from the resulting huge oil slick.