About 0015 on June 16, 1982, water was discovered in the engineroom bilges
on the U.S. flag tankship OGDEN WILLAMETTE, which was in the
Caribbean Sea about 50 nmi southeast of Jamaica with 150,000 barrels of crude oil aboard.
The entry of water exceeded the capacity of the
bilge pump, and eventually the engineering plant was secured.
Although the chief engineer closed certain valves,
the water continued to rise,
and the master ordered the crew to abandon ship.
The engineroom flooded to about 6 feet below the main deck.
The vessel remained afloat with its after deck awash.
It was towed to the Cayman Islands,
where the engineroom was pumped out
and the cargo was transferred to another tanker.
The OGDEN WILLAMETTE was later towed to New Orleans for repairs.
The damage was estimated to be $16 million.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines
that the probable cause of the flooding of the engineroom of the OGDEN WILLAMETTE
was the rupture of the nonmetallic expansion joint
in the main low sea suction line to the main circulating water pumps,
and the failure of the chief engineer
to close the auxiliary condenser's overboard discharge valve when securing the seavalves,
permitting seawater to backflow through the
auxiliary cooling system via the main cooling system to the ruptured joint
when the main circulating water pumps were stopped.
Contributing to the extent of the flooding
was the failure of the chief engineer
to direct use of the emergency bilge suction from the main circulating pumps
and the flooding of the shaft alley through a watertight door that was not closed completely.