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''Sea Witch'' was a MARAD Type C5-S-73b container ship built at the Bath Iron Works shipyard for American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines which operated in the Atlantic trades for five years. So engaged on the evening of May 30, 1973, the vessel was involved in a serious collision with the oil tanker ''Esso Brussels'' in lower New York Harbor and was damaged so badly it was removed from active service. ==Collision with the Oil Tanker ''Esso Brussels''== Just before midnight on May 30th, 1973, ''Sea Witch'' completed her port call at the Howland Hook Marine Terminal on Staten Island and departed for sea carrying a load of 445 containers below deck and 285 containers above deck. Under the command of Sandy Hook Pilot John T. (Jack) Cahill and her Captain John Paterson, the ship proceeded through the Kill van Kull towards lower New York Harbor and the Narrows, passing the Staten Island Ferry Terminal at twenty-nine minutes after midnight. Directing the Helmsman to bring the ship to a heading of 167 degrees in order to begin transiting the Narrows, Cahill also ordered the ship's speed increased to 13.4 knots, just shy of the maximum permitted harbor speed of 14 knots. With the ship now moving closer to 15 knots due to the effects of a strong 2-3 knot ebb tide as she passed by the general anchorage off Stapleton, Cahill ordered a course correction at 0036hrs to port to bring the ship's heading to 156 degrees to bring her in line with the center of the Verrazano–Narrows Bridge. The second turn never occurred. When the ship did not respond as expected the helmsman advised the captain that ''Sea Witch'' was no longer responding to steering inputs, Capt. Paterson quickly ordered steering control transferred from the port side steering system to the starboard system, while Cahill ordered the rudder put hard over to port. Both the Captain's and the Pilot's attempts to regain control of ''Sea Witch'' proved futile, as both the port and starboard steering systems were connected into a single mechanism atop the vessels rudder post by a faulty "key," a device similar to a cotter pin, which had failed. Without this small fastener in place all steering control of ''Sea Witch'' was lost, and with the ship rapidly moving out of the channel toward Staten Island Cahill ordered the engines to full astern, began sounding a series of short rapid blasts on the ship's whistle and asked Capt. Paterson to sound the General Alarm to alert the ship's crew. After attempts by the Chief Mate and two Able Seaman stationed on the bow to release both of ''Sea Witch's'' anchors failed, Cahill locked the whistle to sound continuously to alert nearby vessels, particularly the nearby Oil Tanker SS ''Esso Brussels'' of her distress as she continued her turn towards the anchored, fully laden vessel. Less than five minutes had passed from the initial loss of steering control aboard ''Sea Witch'' before she was within a ship's length from the ''Esso Brussels'' midship, and with the ship still making 13 knots with her engines in full reverse and a collision now unavoidable, Cahill and Paterson ordered the crew off the bow and abandoned the forward superstructure. Aboard the ''Esso Brussels'', the 36 member crew had roughly two minutes' warning of the impending collision before the sharply raked bow of ''Sea Witch'', heavily reinforced for operations in icy harbors, rammed into the tanker at 0042hrs. Rather than crumpling and deforming from the force of its impact with the hull of the ''Esso Brussels'', ''Sea Witch's'' bow retained its shape as its tore into three midship cargo tanks of the ''Esso Brussels'', locking both ships together and allowing a significant amount of her load of light Nigerian crude oil to spray onto both ships and spill into the surrounding waters. Sparks from the collision and severed electrical wiring quickly ignited the highly volatile oil and a tremendous explosion occurred, leaving both ships afire and wreathed in a large and growing pool of burning oil. As the crew of ''Esso Brussels'' made their own attempt to abandon their ship, the crew aboard ''Sea Witch'' mustered in her aft superstructure where they attempted to lower her aft lifeboats. Heavy smoke, heat and a growing number of shrapnel-laced explosions from several burning containers filled with aerosol cans frustrated their initial efforts, and as the rapidly spreading burning oil slick enveloped the ship the effort was abandoned and the crew took shelter in a cabin equipped with a half-inch fire hose to await rescue. During this time, the still-engaged engines of the ''Sea Witch'' began to pull the two ships into the center of the Narrows, where the burning pool of oil sent flames high enough to scorch the bottom of the Verrazano–Narrows Bridge above the water's surface. Fortunately, the anchor chains on the ''Esso Brussels'' parted at this point allowing both ships to pass under the bridge quickly, preventing the steel from suffering significant heat damage. Propelled by the outbound tide and the engines of the ''Sea Witch'', the two furiously burning ships proceeded into outer New York Harbor where they and ran hard aground in Gravesend Bay. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sea Witch (container ship)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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