B3/​2000M M/​T CRYS­TAL RU­BINO, en­vi­ron­men­tal ac­ci­dent dur­ing load­ing, Port of Ham­ina, July 20, 2000

01.07.2001

On 20 July 2000 the Italian chemical tanker CRYSTAL RUBINO was loading Nonyl Phenol Ethoxylate at berth no. 2 in the port of Hamina. At 1300 the chief officer, who was in charge of supervising the loading, was relieved by the second officer. The second officer had neither the experience nor the qualifications to act as an independent duty officer during cargo loading operations. At 1610 a seaman on deck noticed that the cargo was overflowing from no. 1 port tank ullage hatch. The cargo spilled from the deck to the port side drainage tank at the rear of the deck area and then on through an open drainage tank valve onto the pier and into the sea. Foam was produced in the harbour basin and dead fish rose to the surface.

The main cause of this accident was inadequate supervision during the loading, which was supported by the open ullage hatch and the open drainage tank valve.

The high level alarms (98% full) of the tanks had not been tested before the start of loading. Prior to the loading, the ship/shore safety checklist had been ticked by the chief officer without the relevant items being physically checked.