Sketch map of the Bantry area. For full chart, see ^[1]

The Betelgeuse incident, also known as the Betelgeuse or Whiddy Island disaster, occurred on 8 January 1979, at around 1 a.m., when the oil tanker Betelgeuse exploded in Ireland at the offshore jetty of the Whiddy Island Oil Terminal due to the failure of the ship's structure during an operation to discharge its cargo of oil. The tanker was owned by Total S.A. and the oil terminal was owned and operated by Gulf Oil. January 8 is the 8th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the song by The Smashing Pumpkins, see 1979 (song). ... A tanker is usually a vehicle carrying large amounts of liquid fuel. ... Whiddy Island is an island in Bantry Bay, Ireland. ... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario Petroleum (from Greek petra – rock and elaion – oil or Latin oleum – oil ) or crude oil is a thick, dark brown or greenish liquid. ... Total SA (Euronext: FP, NYSE: TOT) is a French oil company headquartered in Paris, France, and one of the top four oil companies in the world (along with Royal Dutch Shell, BP, and ExxonMobil). ... Gulf Oil was a major global oil company from the 1900s to the 1980s. ...

The explosion and resulting fire claimed the lives of 50 people (42 French nationals, 7 Irish nationals and 1 English national). Only 27 bodies were recovered. A further fatality occurred during the salvage operation with the loss of a Dutch diver.^[2] Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ...

Background

sketch map of Ireland, showing position of Bantry Bay

During the 1960s, developments in the pattern of oil transportation indicated that it would soon become most economic to move oil between the Middle East and Europe using Ultra Large Crude Carrier vessels. These vessels were so large that they would not be able to enter most of the older ports on the Atlantic Ocean, North Sea and English Channel coasts. A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... World map exhibiting the location of Europe. ... A supertanker is a tanker ship built to transport very large quantities of liquids, especially crude oil. ... The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ... Satellite view of the English Channel The English Channel (French: La Manche (IPA: ), the sleeve) is the part of the Atlantic Ocean that separates the island of Great Britain from northern France and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. ...

Accordingly, it was judged appropriate to build a new oil terminal in Europe capable of handling the largest vessels that were planned. The intention was that oil coming from the Middle East would be off-loaded at this terminal and then stored for transshipment to European refineries using smaller vessels. The closure of the Suez Canal in 1967 as a result of the Six-Day War reinforced the economic viability of this scheme. Oil shipments had to come round the Cape of Good Hope, thus avoiding the vessel size constraints previously imposed by the canal. Transshipment is the shipment of goods to an intermediate destination, and then from there to yet another destination. ... Ships moored at El Ballah during transit Egypt: Site of Suez Canal (top). ... Combatants Israel Egypt Syria Jordan Iraq Commanders Yitzhak Rabin, Moshe Dayan, Uzi Narkiss, Israel Tal, Mordechai Hod, Ariel Sharon Abdel Hakim Amer, Abdul Munim Riad, Zaid ibn Shaker, Hafez al-Assad Strength 264,000 (incl. ... The Cape of Good Hope; looking towards the west, from the coastal cliffs above Cape Point. ...

In 1966, the Gulf Oil Corporation identified Whiddy Island in Bantry Bay, Ireland, as being the most suitable site for the new terminal. Whiddy Island offered a long, sheltered deep-water anchorage. Furthermore, it was well away from any major population centres and shipping lanes. Construction started in 1967 and the terminal was completed in 1969. Gulf Oil was a major global oil company from the 1900s to the 1980s. ... Whiddy Island is an island in Bantry Bay, Ireland. ... Bantry Bay is a bay located in southwest Ireland, in County Cork. ...

The onshore facility included a 'tank farm' consisting of two tanks for ballast, two for bunker fuel oil, one for diesel oil and twelve crude oil storage tanks, each capable of holding 81,280 tonnes, bringing the total capacity to approximately 1.3 million tonnes of oil. The offshore facility was comprised of an island type berth (known colloquially as the 'jetty') 488 metres (1,600 ft) in length, approximately 396 metres (1,300 ft) from the shore. The jetty was commonly described as "a massive concrete structure" and access to it was only possible by boat. It was claimed that the jetty was capable of accommodating vessels of up to 500,000 dwt, although no such vessels existed at that time.^[3] Look up ballast in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Diesel fuel is a specific distillate fraction of fuel oil that is used in a diesel engine invented by German engineer Rudolf Diesel, and perfected by Charles F. Kettering. ... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario Petroleum (from Greek petra – rock and elaion – oil or Latin oleum – oil ) or crude oil is a thick, dark brown or greenish liquid. ... A tonne (also called metric ton) is a non-SI unit of mass, accepted for use with SI, defined as: 1 tonne = 103 kg (= 106 g). ... Look up berth in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The Gulf Oil logo

The construction and operation of the terminal transformed the economy of the Bantry area. In 1968, the tanker Universe Ireland went into service for Gulf. At 312,000 dwt this was the largest ship in the world. It was intended to use this vessel mainly to move oil between Kuwait and Whiddy Island. It was the first of six such tankers planned for use by the company.^[4] Image File history File links Gulf. ... Gulf Oil was a major global oil company from the 1900s to the 1980s. ... Tonnage is a measure of the size or cargo capacity of a ship. ...

The terminal was very successful for the first five years of operation, but then events began to move against it. The Suez Canal reopened and the economics of ULCCs began to appear less satisfactory than had originally been anticipated. Shipping goods in the form of infrequent but very large loads involves engaging more idle capital in the form of stock than the alternatives. Also, the process of transshipment is costly. The whole economic basis of the Whiddy terminal was incompatible with the 'just-in-time' approach to industrial management which was being widely adopted at the time. That apart, the late 1970s saw a levelling-off in demand for oil as the result of both economic recession and a rise in the price of oil. All these circumstances caused a fall in the utilisation of the terminal to a level below that which had been planned for. Thus, by the late 1970s, the local Gulf operating company (Gulf Oil Terminals (Ireland) Ltd) was struggling to maintain the viability of the terminal. The company had been forced to undertake a number of cost saving measures.^[5] Just In Time (JIT) is an inventory strategy implemented to improve the return on investment of a business by reducing in-process inventory and its associated costs. ...

The incident

On 24 November 1978, the Betelgeuse left Ras Tanura in the Persian Gulf bound for Leixoes, Portugal with a full cargo of crude oil. Built in 1968, by Chantiers de l'Atlantique, in Saint-Nazaire, France, the 121,432 dwt vessel was registered by Total S.A. at Le Havre, France. November 24 is the 328th day (329th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Map of Ras Tanura Region Ras Tanura (more accurately Ras TannÅ«rah, Arabic: رأس تنورة meaning top/head of the barbeque spit) is a city in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia located on a peninsula extending into the Persian Gulf. ... Map of the Persian Gulf. ... A modern view of the ancient city of Porto, the city that gave the name to the country. ... Chantiers de lAtlantique is one of the worlds largest shipyards, based in Saint-Nazaire, France. ... Saint-Nazaire is also a commune of the Gard département of France. ... Total SA (Euronext: FP, NYSE: TOT) is a French oil company headquartered in Paris, France, and one of the top four oil companies in the world (along with Royal Dutch Shell, BP, and ExxonMobil). ... Abbey of Graville, Le Havre Le Havre is a city in Normandy, northern France, on the English Channel, at the mouth of the Seine. ...

The Total S.A. logo (pre 1992 version)

Originally the Betelgeuse was to call at Sines, Portugal, to lighten ship, but poor weather conditions prevented the vessel from entering the harbour. Plans were further frustrated at Leixoes, where a ship had grounded across the entrance to the harbour, preventing the Betelgeuse from berthing there to discharge her cargo. The Betelgeuse was then instructed to sail to Whiddy Island, Ireland. Total SA (Euronext: FP, NYSE: TOT) is a French oil company headquartered in Paris, France, and one of the top four oil companies in the world (along with Royal Dutch Shell, BP, and ExxonMobil). ... Location  - Region  - Subregion  - District or A.R.   Alentejo Alentejo Litoral Setúbal Mayor  - Party Manuel Carvalho CDU Area 202. ... A modern view of the ancient city of Porto, the city that gave the name to the country. ... Whiddy Island is an island in Bantry Bay, Ireland. ...

The Betelgeuse first put in at Vigo, Spain to change some of her crew, and then sailed for Whiddy Island on 30 December 1978. During the passage the vessel encountered heavy weather in the Bay of Biscay and after reporting a leakage of oil was instructed to head towards Brest, France at reduced speed. However, the origin of the leak was discovered and stopped. The vessel proceeded on its original planned course, arriving in Bantry Bay on 4 January 1979. Nickname: The Olive City Situation of Vigo within Galicia Parroquias Alcabre, Beade, Bembrive, Cabral, Candeán, Castrelos, Comesaña, Coruxo, Lavadores, Matamá, Navia, Oia, Saiáns, Sampaio, Sárdoma, Valadares, Zamáns. ... Whiddy Island is an island in Bantry Bay, Ireland. ... December 30 is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 1 day remaining. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Map of the Bay of Biscay. ... Brest is a city in Brittany, or the Bretagne région, north-west France, sous-préfecture of the Finistère département. ... Bantry Bay is a bay located in southwest Ireland, in County Cork. ... January 4 is the 4th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the song by The Smashing Pumpkins, see 1979 (song). ...

By 8 p.m. on 6 January 1979, the Betelgeuse had completed berthing at the offshore jetty. At 11:30 p.m. the same day, the vessel commenced discharging its 114,000 tonnes of mixed Arabian crude oil, which was expected to take about 36 hours. A number of the crew went ashore while this was in progress and the wife of one of the officers joined her husband on the vessel.^[6] January 6 is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 359 days (360 in leap years) remaining. ... For the song by The Smashing Pumpkins, see 1979 (song). ... Tonnage is a measure of the size or cargo capacity of a ship. ... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario Petroleum (from Greek petra – rock and elaion – oil or Latin oleum – oil ) or crude oil is a thick, dark brown or greenish liquid. ...

At about 1 a.m. (evidence on the precise time conflicts) on Monday, 8 January, a rumbling/cracking noise was heard from the vessel, followed shortly by a huge explosion within its hull. The force of the explosion was seen to blow men from the jetty into the sea. Local residents reported seeing the Betelgeuse engulfed in a ball of fire a few moments later. A series of further explosions followed which broke the vessel in half. Much of the oil cargo still on board ignited and this generated temperatures estimated to exceed 1,000 °C. The concrete unloading jetty crumbled and firefighters, arriving on the scene from several neighbouring towns, were unable to get near the vessel. The firefighters concentrated their efforts on preventing the fire from spreading to the tanks of the storage farm and containing the oil spillage.^[7] Local families living on the island fled for their lives. January 8 is the 8th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Betelgeuse at first light, 8 January 1979

After a few hours the Betelgeuse sank at her moorings in 30 metres of water, which largely extinguished the main body of the fire. In spite of this, rescue workers were not able to approach the wreck (some of which was still above water) for two weeks due to clouds of toxic and inflammable gas surrounding it. After two weeks, it was possible to start recovering bodies from the wreck and pumping off the remains of the oil cargo that was still on board.

The aftermath

What became known variously as 'the Betelgeuse incident', 'the Betelgeuse disaster' or 'the Whiddy Island disaster' was the worst maritime disaster in Irish history. (Gulf and Total executives commonly referred to 'the Betelgeuse incident'). Military and civilian personnel were mobilised from all over Ireland to deal with it. The incident was the subject of agonised debate in the Dáil.^[8] One TD noted that there had been earlier incidents at the Whiddy Island terminal and questioned whether Gulf's status as a major employer had made the authorities reluctant to enforce a rigorous inspection regime. Dáil Éireann[1] is the lower house of the Oireachtas (parliament) of the Republic of Ireland. ... A Teachta Dála (Irish for Dáil Deputy, pronounced chock-ta dawla) is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower chamber of the Irish Oireachtas or National Parliament. ...

The Irish government appointed a Tribunal to investigate the incident, presided over by Justice Declan Costello. This Tribunal took a year to hear evidence and prepare a 480 page report.^[9] The report indicated three main factors that had contributed to the incident. These were: Declan Costello (born August 1, 1926) was an Irish politician from the Fine Gael Party, who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for twenty years as as Attoney-General for four. ...

1. The poor condition of the Betelgeuse for which its operator, Total S.A., was to blame. Immediately before the incident, the vessel's hull and tanks were cracked, corroded and leaking. The 11 year old vessel had been worked hard and was at the end of its service life.
2. Incorrect unloading sequences and ballasting which resulted in the buoyancy of the hull becoming uneven and the hull therefore strained. Lack of crew training or knowing malpractice were possible explanations. Total was held largely to blame for this. However, given that all the personnel involved in the unloading had died in the explosion, it was difficult to be certain as to what had happened.
3. Inadequate and poorly maintained fire fighting and rescue systems both on the vessel and on the jetty. Gulf and Total were held jointly to blame for this. A combination of human failings and financial constraints were the immediate causes.

It was determined that a faulty unloading operation had unbalanced the vessel, causing it to break its back and thereby rupturing several empty ballast tanks. Vapour from the ruptured tanks had escaped into the vessel and exploded in a fireball. However, the Costello Tribunal's findings were never accepted by Total. Total SA (Euronext: FP, NYSE: TOT) is a French oil company headquartered in Paris, France, and one of the top four oil companies in the world (along with Royal Dutch Shell, BP, and ExxonMobil). ...

”Total recalls its view that the tanks exploded as the result of a fire which it believes started out on the jetty. The company can but contest the report’s conclusions which assume that the ballasting operations were carried out in a most unlikely way by a highly qualified crew.” - The Times, July 26 1980 . "Gulf and Total accused." (Total rejoinder to the Costello Tribunal report)

Total drew attention to the unexplained absence from his post of the Gulf employee whose duty it was to supervise the unloading from the on-shore control room. The individual concerned had left the control room some time before the trouble started (see below) and his absence may have contributed to a lack of urgency in responding to events. Exactly what happened that night has never been established beyond doubt.

All the crew on board the ship at the time of the incident (41 in total) are believed to have died, although not all the bodies were found. In addition, one visitor to the ship (an officer's wife) and eight terminal workers were killed. Initial efforts to contain the fire were hampered by a lack of organisation and poorly maintained fire fighting equipment at the terminal. The Bantry fire brigade spent some time waiting at the town pier for a launch to take them onto the island. The terminal's own fire engine would not start. Firefighters had to break into the terminal's main depot in order to access equipment (much of which did not work) and materials.^[10]

Betelgeuse memorial, St Finbarr's Church graveyard, Bantry - overlooking Bantry Harbour

There was some controversy over the exact timing of events and the response of the terminal management to the disaster as it unfolded. Some local residents claimed that there was anything up to 5 minutes between the audible structural failure of the vessel and the time at which the initial explosion happened. If this were so, the opportunity to attempt an evacuation had been missed.^[11] But the terminal management insisted that the explosion had almost immediately followed the structural failure.

”The Tribunal singles out one man who might have raised the alarm and saved the lives of those who perished : Mr John Connolly who was not in his post as despatcher in the control room of the terminal. To suppress that fact Gulf personnel and the Bantry telephone operator entered into a conspiracy. False entries were made in logs, false accounts were given of the disaster and efforts were made to avoid giving statements to the police.”- The Times, July 26 1980 . "Gulf and Total accused."

No escape from the jetty or the vessel was possible in the absence of rescue boats, given that there was no fixed link from the jetty to the shore. However, all concerned praised the initiative and courage of the firefighters and rescue workers.

A Dutch salvage firm, L Smit & Co, raised the Betelgeuse in four sections. The first section (the bow) was towed out to open water, 100 miles offshore, and scuttled. This measure attracted protests from the fishing community, so two further sections were sealed up and towed to breaking yards in Spain for disposal. A fourth section was broken up locally.^[12] During the salvage operation, the life of a diver was lost. The last section was not removed until July 1980. Local fishing grounds were badly contaminated and a clean-up was not finally complete until 1983.

The costs of salvage, clean-up and compensation are believed to have totalled around US$120 millions.^[13] That included compensation paid by Total to Gulf. Most of the relevant costs were paid by insurance companies and all the various claims and counter-claims were eventually settled out of court. Gulf never reopened the terminal and a feasibility study in 1985 showed that it no longer had any potential use in international oil trade. In 1986, Gulf surrendered its lease on the site to the Irish government.^[14] The government used the terminal (after carrying out a limited refurbishment) to hold its strategic oil reserve, with loading and unloading carried out via a buoy. The terminal's main jetty was not rebuilt.

A number of memorial services have been held to commemorate anniversaries of the incident. The most recent of these was on the 25th anniversary in January 2004. Relatives of the victims joined with local residents in a special service held at St Finbarr’s Church in Bantry. A memorial sculpture, incorporating the ship's bell which was recovered from the wreck, has been erected in the hillside graveyard overlooking the harbour. The bodies of two unidentified casualties from the incident are interred nearby.^[15] WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 51. ...

See also

• Tribunal
• Public Inquiry

A tribunal is a generic term for any body acting judicially, whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. ... In the politics and government of Commonwealth countries such as Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, a public inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by the government. ...

Trivia

Gulf Oil sponsored US television coverage (NBC 'special news') of the NASA space launches and voyages in the 1960s. One commercial included in this coverage had an Irish band on an oil tanker deck singing a rousing maritime song with the chorus ('oil' pronouced 'ail' throughout) :

Bringin' home the oil, me boys, bringin' home the oil!

Sailing all around the world, bringin' home the oil!

A workin' on a tanker ship, it's very hard we toil,

A sailin' into Bantry Bay, bringin' home the oil!

References

1. ^ Sea chart of Bantry Bay :Whiddy and Bantry are to the right
2. ^ Oil Spillage report: The Betelgeuse incident
3. ^ The Times, 9 November 1968
4. ^ Handbook of Texas Online: Gulf company bio
5. ^ The Irish Times, "GOTIRE makes cutbacks", 11 September 1978
6. ^ Irish Times, "Voyage to disaster", 10 January 1979
7. ^ The Irish Examiner: report from 8 January 2004
8. ^ Dáil Éireann: proceedings 6 March 1979
9. ^ Dáil Éireann: statement by Minister of Justice, 1981
10. ^ The Costello Tribunal report on the Betelgeuse incident - Dáil Éireann, 1980
11. ^ The Irish Examiner: 2004 article, see 'delay in the alarm being raised
12. ^ Oil Spillage report: The Betelgeuse incident - see section 4
13. ^ Oil Spillage report: The Betelgeuse incident - see section 5
14. ^ Dáil Éireann: statement by Minister of Energy, 1985
15. ^ The Irish Examiner: 2004 article, see middle paragraphs