MT ''Haven'', formerly ''Amoco Milford Haven'', was a VLCC ( very large crude carrier), leased to Troodos Shipping (a company run by Loucas Haji-Ioannou and his son Stelios Haji-Ioannou). In 1991, while loaded with 144,000 tonnes (1 million barrels) of

crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring u ...

, the ship exploded, caught fire and sank off the coast of

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, killing six Cypriot crew and flooding the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

with up to 50,000 tonnes of

. It broke in two and sank after burning for three days.

History

''Amoco Milford Haven'' was built by Astilleros Españoles S.A. in

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

, Spain, the

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

of ''

Amoco Cadiz ''Amoco Cadiz'' was an oil tanker owned by Amoco, Amoco Transport Corp and transporting crude oil for Royal Dutch Shell, Shell Oil. Operating under the Liberian flag, she ran aground on 16 March 1978 on Portsall, Portsall Rocks, from the coast ...

'', which sank in 1978. Launched in 1973, she worked various routes shipping crude oil from the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

. In 1988 she was hit by a missile in the Gulf during the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

. Extensively refitted in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, she was sold to ship brokers who leased her to Troodos Shipping, for whom she ran from

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

's Kharg Island to the

Accident

On 11 April 1991, ''Haven'' was unloading a cargo of 230,000

tonnes The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...

of crude oil to the Multedo floating platform, off the coast of

. Having transferred 80,000 tonnes, the ship disconnected from the platform for a routine internal transfer operation, to allow oil to be pumped from two side-holds into a central one. In later testimony, First Officer Donatos Lilis said: "I heard a very loud noise, like iron bars beating against each other. Perhaps the cover of a pump had broken. Then there was an awful explosion." Five crewmen died immediately, as fire broke out and oil started leaking from the hull as the plates overheated. As the fire engulfed the ship, flames rose 100m high and, after a series of further explosions occurred, between 30 and 40,000 tons of oil poured into the sea. The Italian authorities acted quickly, with hundreds of men fighting a fire which was difficult to access, and distributing more than of inflatable barriers, submerged a

metre The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

below the surface, around the vessel to control the spillage. On day two, MT ''Haven'' was to be towed close to the coast, in a bid to reduce the coastal area affected and make intervention easier. As the bow slipped beneath the surface, a steel cable was passed around the rudder and tugs applied towing pressure. But it was quickly clear that the ship had broken its back, and the bow section came to rest in of water. On 14 April, the 250 m long main body sank from the coast, between Arenzano and Cogoleto.

Shipwreck

After the wreck was declared safe, a mini sub diver found that the stern section had grazed a rocky spur, though not hard enough to open any new holes in the hull, and come to rest at an angle on the flat, sandy seabed. He reported that most of the remaining 80,000 tons of crude had burnt or was at the surface. Most of the oil on the surface could be sucked up, and what remained below was in a solid state. For the next 12 years the Mediterranean coast of Italy and France was polluted, especially around

and southern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. ''Haven'' is the largest shipwreck in the region and lies at a depth of to off the coast of Genoa. It is a popular tourist attraction with recreational scuba divers.

Court case

Background and allegations

At the centre of the case was the allegation that Lucas and Stelios had kept their vessel, the Troodos-owned Cyprus-flagged ''Haven'', in such disrepair that she exploded. According to news items it is also alleged that the tanker was due to be scrapped after being hit by an Exocet missile during the Iran–Iraq War and should not have been put back into operation. Prosecutors had asked for seven-year sentences for manslaughter against both father and son, and two years and four months against Christos Dovles, a former director of the shipping firm.

Outcome

Lucas and Stelios were later acquitted after three retrials (of which 2002 was the last) and much controversy, with subsequent appeals and demands for compensation also thrown out. Stelios was quoted after the trial: "My main comment is to ask why it took so long to clear innocent people of these terrible charges."

Reception

Italy's Environment Ministry under-secretary said he was "greatly embittered" by the verdict, saying, "The victims, the relatives and the marine environment that were all seriously damaged are left without convincing answers." The Italian president of the

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the ...

, Grazia Francescato, said in a statement that she was disgusted with Stelios' conduct. She drew similarities with the ''Moby Prince'' disaster, an unrelated collision in which 140 people died on a ferry just off the nearby city of

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

, and the acquittal of four men on charges of manslaughter. NUMAST, the union that represents merchant officers, described the acquittal as "depressing", a sentiment also expressed by the

International Transport Workers' Federation The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) is a democratic global union federation of transport workers' trade unions, founded in 1896. In 2017 the ITF had 677 member organizations in 149 countries, representing a combined membership o ...

. Only by making ship owners accountable for the state of vessels under their control would substandard ships be eliminated, Andrew Linington, head of communications at NUMAST said. "Even when ship owners were clearly linked with a ship that did not meet acceptable standards it seems no action will be taken," Linington said.

References

External links

Italian site about the tragedy

Wreck of the Haven at www.relitti.it
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haven 1973 ships 20th century in Genoa Maritime incidents in Italy Maritime incidents in 1987 Maritime incidents in 1988 Maritime incidents in 1991 Oil tankers Oil spills in Europe Ships built in Spain Shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea Amoco Ships of BP 1990s disasters in Italy 1991 in Italy Environmental history of Italy Industrial accidents and incidents in Italy