Spills
Esperance, western australia
Sanko Harvest; Esperance, Western Australia · NOAAORR-6790
- issued
- 1991-02-13 00:00Z
- status
- cancelled 1991-02-27 00:00Z
- self-cancels
- 1991-02-27 00:00Z
- authority
- NOAA OR&R
- sea
- Great Australian Bight
- position
- -34.167, 122.500
- vessel
- TANKER OWNERS POLLUTION FEDERATION · 12 messages
- source
- incidentnews · first seen 2026-09-03 15:09Z
Original warning text
Sanko Harvest; Esperance, Western Australia. Esperance, Western Australia. 1. On the night of February 13, 1991, the Panamanian bulk cargo carrier Sanko Harvest grounded on a submerged rock pinnacle 23 miles south of Esperance, Western Australia. The vessel, out of the shipping lane at the time of the incident, was loaded with 30,000 metric tons of fertilizer, diammonium phosphate, and triple superphosphate. The double hull of the vessel was ripped open in the grounding and the freighter began leaking its fuel oil. On February 18, the ship broke in two in a storm and sank with its entire cargo and bunker fuel. Approximately 3,500 barrels of fuel oil were spilled during the incident. The remaining 900 barrels of oil sank with the ship. Keyword: Sorbents, sinking, International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF), Corexit 9527. 2. COMMODITY: FUEL OIL. MAXIMUM POTENTIAL RELEASE: 147000 GALLONS. 3. POSITION 34.167S 122.500E. NOAA INCIDENTNEWS 6790: https://incidentnews.noaa.gov/incident/6790
This area · spills & pollution incidents
1 within 180 nm since 1991 · 0 in the last 12 months · 0 in force now
Season · when spills & pollution incidents happen here
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month of issue, all years in the archive
Nearby now · within 120 nm
Nothing else in force within 120 nm.
Worldwide now
8 spills & pollution incidents in force · see all
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 →
Not for navigation. This is a re-rendering of an official navigational warning for awareness; mariners must use official NAVAREA broadcasts and their national MSI service.