The Story

At approximately 6 p.m., on a clear and calm day early in January 1979, a towing vessel and two tank barges were moored at an oil terminal dock on the Tennessee River. At about 5 a.m., offloading 20,000 barrels of No. 6 oil commenced from one of the tank barges. At about 10 a.m. , the U.S. Coast Guard port safety inspector arrived and conducted a routine monitor of cargo transfer aboard the barge undergoing off-loading and a spot-check aboard the second barge. He noted no discrepancies during the inspection, nor was he informed of any problems existing aboard either of the tank barges at that time.

At about 5 a.m. the next day, pumping operations from the first tank barge were completed and the offloading of 20,000 barrels of No. 6 oil from the second tank barge commenced. Pumping of the product was slow due to the cold weather, even though both vessels were equipped with thermal fluid heaters to heat the thick product to a temperature of about 150 degrees F. At around 5:50 p.m. that evening, when the product depth was about one foot in the No. 1 cargo tank, suction problems were encountered in the cargo suction line inside the tank. At that point, the chief engineer advised the captain of the problem and the two of them entered the No. 1 tank with a bed sheet torn into strips to wrap around the cargo pipe. They wore no masks or self-contained breathing apparatus of any type, nor was the oxygen level of the tank checked prior to their entry (equipment to do so was not available). After being in the tank about four minutes, they returned on deck to obtain another sheet. Neither showed any ill effects from being in the tank. After about 10 minutes, they reentered the tank with another sheet and had just started to wrap it around the pipe when the captain passed out. The chief engineer called for help, and two deck hands passed him a rope. He failed to secure the rope around the captain, called again for help, and a third man entered the tank. They succeeded in tying the rope around the unconscious man, but the chief engineer suddenly announced that he had to get out. He started for the ladder and then passed out at the bottom of it. At that point the third man also fell, unconscious, face down in the foot or so of oil remaining in the tank.

A radio call for assistance was intercepted by the U.S. Tennessee Valley Authority Public Safety Office. A three-man team of public safety officers was dispatched to assist, and arrived on the barge about 6:30 p.m.. All three men were removed from the tank within 40 minutes by the safety team, other crewmen, and dock personnel.

Upon arrival at a local hospital, the third tanker man was pronounced dead. The death certificate set forth the cause of death as "noxious fume inhalation." This was not concurred with in the Coast Guard investigation report, as the deceased was found face down in approximately one foot of No. 6 oil. He had probably been in that position in excess of 40 minutes, since it is likely that he lost consciousness shortly after the first two men passed out. The report maintained that the most probable cause of death was due to drowning in the No. 6 oil.

The other two men were hospitalized with symptoms of anoxia, and released after about a week with no apparent after effects.

Lesson Learned

The Coast Guard concludes that the cause of this casualty was the unsafe act on the part of the captain and the chief engineer in entering a non-gas free compartment without first ascertaining if a sufficient oxygen level was available to sustain life.