Spills

Norfolk, southeast coast of england

Eleni V; Norfolk, Southeast Coast of England · NOAAORR-6242

issued
1978-05-06 00:00Z
status
cancelled 1978-05-20 00:00Z
self-cancels
1978-05-20 00:00Z
authority
NOAA OR&R
sea
North Sea
position
52.817, 1.800
vessel
TANKER ELENI V
source
incidentnews · first seen 2026-09-03 15:09Z

Original warning text

Eleni V; Norfolk, southeast coast of England.
Norfolk, southeast coast of England.
1. On the morning of May 6, 1978, the Greek tanker Eleni V was cut in two by the French vessel Roseline in foggy conditions off the southeast coast of England. The Eleni V was loaded with 117,280 barrels of Heavy Fuel Oil. The collision caused the release of approximately 52,500 barrels of oil. The aft section was towed to Rotterdam by five Dutch tugs. The cargo remaining in the aft section was recovered by pumping it into storage tanks at Europort. The forward section of the vessel drifted away from the collision site. It went aground on May 8 on a sandbank near Lowestoft off the East Anglian coast with approximately 8000 barrels still on board. Attempts to salvage the forward part failed, and authorities decided to blow it up. The bow was towed to a position several miles offshore and blown up with two tons of explosives by Navy divers on May 30. Following the explosion, a large part of [...]
2. COMMODITY: HEAVY FUEL OIL. MAXIMUM POTENTIAL RELEASE: 2210000 GALLONS.
3. POSITION 52.817N 001.800E. NOAA INCIDENTNEWS 6242: https://incidentnews.noaa.gov/incident/6242

This area · spills & pollution incidents

15 within 180 nm since 1969 · 0 in the last 12 months · 0 in force now

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Spills

Oil and chemical spills, groundings and vessel casualties with a pollution threat: NOAA IncidentNews responses since 1957, and spill-response areas broadcast as navigational warnings. All current spills & pollution incidents

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