MT ''Unirea'' ( Romanian ''Union'') was a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n-flagged crude oil carrier, one of the biggest ships of the Romanian commercial fleet. She broke up and sank in 1982 in the

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n waters of the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

, south-south east of the Cape Kaliakra at a depth of after a mysterious explosion. The crew totalled 43 members of which 42 were rescued by Romanian and

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

boats. The sinking of ''Unirea'' was classified by Lloyd's List as the largest ship accident of 1982.

Investigations

The exact cause of accident is unknown but official reports suggest that during a vapor evacuation of the central number 3 tank an explosive mixture formed alongside the evacuation hole that could have been ignited by multiple sources but especially electrostatic energy. The explosion of the central number 3 tank had a devastating effect on the integrity of the ship triggering a series of explosions that destroyed the separating wall of the central and starboard tanks favoring the expansion of the volatile elements across the ship. The fire that followed also contributed to the vertical breaking of the ship's shell and the eventual sinking. Other official reports claim that the accident was caused by a collision with a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

mine. A different opinion (unofficial) came from some naval architects and marine engineers stating that the ship broke up because of incorrect ballasting (the ship had no cargo at the time of the accident). The Romanian shipping company "Navrom" claimed the insurance payout, amounting to US$36.6 million. This action resulted in a thorough inspection of the ship's wreck by independent survey teams, employed by the insurance company from

Lloyd's Register Lloyd's Register Group Limited, trading as Lloyd's Register (LR), is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. As the inspection did not reveal any major faults in construction, the insurance was finally paid.

Rescue operations

The rescue operation was coordinated from the Bulgarian shore and involved eight Romanian ships, ''Motru'' , ''Tg. Bujor'' , ''Mărășești'' , ''Căciulata'' , ''Gostinul'' , ''Grădiștea'' , ''Toplița'' and the ''Voinicul'' tugboat, five

n ships, ''Perun'', ''Rusalka'', ''Icar'', ''Europa'', and ''Kiten'', two

ships, ''Ianghi Iuli'' and ''Gordelivi'', and rescue helicopters from Romania and Bulgaria. The Romanian ships ''Motru'' and ''Tg. Bujor'' each rescued 18 crew members, the Soviet ship ''Ianhghi Iuli'' rescued 5 and the last crew member, Gabriel Georgescu, was rescued by a Bulgarian helicopter after staying eight hours in the cold waters of the

. The only casualty was the ship's waitress Elena Ganță.

Sister ships

M/T ''Unirea'' was the second of a series of five Romanian supertankers that were constructed by the

Constanța Shipyard Constanța Shipyard () is the largest shipyard in Romania and one of the largest in Europe having a market share of 20% in the Black Sea basin. The shipyard has two drydocks, one used for the construction of ships up to , and the second one us ...

in the 1980s. The sister ships were as follows: M/T ''Independența'' (''Independence'') - collided in 1979 with a freighter at the southern entrance of

Bosphorus The Bosporus or Bosphorus Strait ( ; , colloquially ) is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and forms one of the continental bo ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and exploded. She caught fire and grounded. Almost all of the tanker's crew members died. The wreck of the ''Independența'' burned for weeks causing heavy air and sea pollution in the

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

area and the

Sea of Marmara The Sea of Marmara, also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, is a small inland sea entirely within the borders of Turkey. It links the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea via the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, separating Turkey's E ...

. M/T ''Biruința'' (''Triumph'') - Owned and managed by the then Romanian state-owned shipping company, Navrom. In the 1990s the ship was passed to the Romanian private shipping company Petromin, changing its name to M/T ''Iris Star''. ''Iris Star'' lost power because of engine failure during a passage through the Bosphorus on 27 July 2000, and drifted towards Kandilli point. There was no extensive damage reported. Finally the ship was bought by the Romanian shipping company Histria Shipmanagement having its name changed again to M/T ''Histria Crown''. The ship was finally decommissioned in 2006 after more than 20 years of service. M/T ''Libertatea'' (''Liberty'') - had the same history (including ownership) as her older sister M/T ''Biruinţa'' with the only exception that the ship is still in operation under the name M/T ''Histria Prestige''. M/T ''Pacea'' (''Peace'') - was never fully completed. At the end of the 1980s it was passed to

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

as a part of Romania's foreign debt.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Unirea Maritime incidents in 1982 Ship fires Oil tankers Ships of Romania Shipwrecks in the Black Sea 1980 ships Ships built in Romania 1982 in Bulgaria