Motor-Tanker Coimbra - The Million Gallon Gamble

Abstract

ABSTRACT In January of 1942, the M/T COIMBRA, a British flag vessel, carrying 64,800 barrels of lubricating oil and fuel oil was torpedoed by the German submarine U-123. It sank 26 NM south of Shinnecock Inlet, NY. The vessel was classified by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as a Remediation of Underwater Legacy Environmental Threats (RULET) vessel and was ranked the second highest pollution threat in the First Coast Guard District area of responsibility and the highest for U. S. Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound. In 2015, Sector Long Island Sound started receiving pollution reports from the National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NESDIS) via NOAA of anomalies in the vicinity of the wreck location of M/T COIMBRA. The anomalies were later confirmed by U.S. Coast Guard overflights and surface sheen sampling as oil. The Federal On-Scene Coordinator (FOSC) determined that M/T COIMBRA posed a substantial threat to the environment and opened the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to complete an assessment and execute an oil removal operation from the vessel that was deteriorating on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean for 77 years. The vast number of unknowns, government regulations, technological challenges, varying weather patterns, diverse marine fauna, and lack of historical records about non-U.S. flagged vessels complicated the response to this pollution threat. Establishing a diverse team of professionals comprised of federal, academic, and state specialists, a detailed statement of work was created, and a contractor was chosen to complete objectives established by the FOSC. As a result of the operation, the U.S. Coast Guard determined the following: - Types and quantity of oil onboard the subject vessel- Best practices for the oil removal from an historic wreck- The impacts of salt water on the riveted hull structures- Challenges of the oil removal from various historical ship construction types A total of 81 out of 87 wrecks on the RULET database remain unassessed and unexplored in the United States alone. RULET wrecks and other historical polluting wrecks around the world may present a significant threat to the environment. The COIMBRA project answers some of the questions that will make future cases of these polluting historical wrecks more cost effective and less time consuming. In the best-case scenario this project will serve as an example for establishment of the framework for future projects of this nature.