- OMI Charger
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Career (United States of America) 
Name: OMI Charger Operator: OMI Corporation Ordered: December 15, 1969 Builder: Bethlehem Steel Corporation Launched: December 15, 1969 Fate: Sank in Galveston, Texas on October 9, 1993 General characteristics Class and type: Steel hull oil tanker Tonnage: 34,485 metric tons deadweight (DWT) Length: 631 ft 1 in (192.35 m) Beam: 90.1 ft (27.5 m) Draught: 48.9 ft (14.9 m) Propulsion: steam turbine 15,000 horse power The OMI Charger was a single-hulled oil tanker built in 1969 and used by the OMI Corporation.
Disaster
On October 9, 1993 while the tanker was anchored at Boliver Roads near Galveston, Texas, work began on sealing a previously discovered leak in a cargo tank. When a crew member lit an arc welder inside a tank, it ignited gasoline vapors, causing a tremendous explosion which killed three crew members and injured seven. The subsequent fire burned for five hours, and the ship was a total loss.
A US Coast Guard investigation determined that the cargo tank had been improperly cleared and insufficiently tested prior to the incident.[1]
References
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