The Braer Disaster (Braer)

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The Vessel

The Braer drifting toward distruction

The Braer was a single-hulled motor tanker. At the time of the accident she was about 18 years old and required some minor repairs which were to be be carried out during her voyage from Mongstad, Norway, to Canada.

She normally had a crew of 29 but on her last voyage there was an extra crew of five: a superintendent from the shipowners and four fitters who had boarded the Braer in Mongstad.

The master, the chief engineer and the first assistant engineer were Greek nationals, all other officers and ratings were Filipino nationals. At the time of the accident there were four nationalities on board: Greek, Filipino, Pakistani and Polish with English used as common language.

All crew held valid certificates for this class of ship and trade which were issued by their home countries with some holding additional certificates issued by the flag state, Liberia.

At the time of the accident, there were at least two sisterships of the Braer in active service.

**Technical facts for the Braer**
Facts ...	Given as ...	Facts ...	Given as ...
Name	Braer (ex Hellespont Pride)	Port of Registry	Monrovia
Crew	29 (regular) plus 5 (riding)	Registered Owner	Braer Corporation, Monrovia
Managers	B+H Shipmanagement, Stamford, Ct, USA	Voyage Charterers	Canadian Ultramar Ltd., Montreal, Canada
Built	1975, Oshima Shipbuilding Co Ltd., Nagasaki, Japan	Length overall	241.51 m
Breadth Moulded	40.06 m	Depth Moulded	18.80 m
Gross Tonnage	44.989	Deadweight	89.730 tonnes
Loaded Draft	14.15 m	Main Engine	Samitomo-Sulzer Type 7RND90
Maximum Continuous Output	20.300 bhp at 122 rpm	Normal Output	18.270 bhp at 118 rpm
Electrical Generators	2 x 880 kW Diesel driven	Auxiliary Boiler	1 oil-fired water tube steam, pressure 16 Bar
Service Speed	14.5 Knots	Classification Society	Det Norske Veritas
Reason for Ship's Loss	Seawater contamination of the diesel oil	Notes	The vessel was provided with a comprehensive range of navigational and communication equipment. All the certificates for the vessel were in order and fully up to date.

All information based on MAIP data.

"The immediate cause of the accident was the contamination of the diesel oil supply by seawater entering the storage tanks from damaged air pipes. The damage was caused by one or more of the spare steel pipe sections which had broken loose in the severe weather conditions."

The inspectors of the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) found no reason which might suggest that the vessel was not in "seaworthy" condition. Despite that, the former master of the Braer claimed in 2001 "that he was not fully informed about the real condition of the ship's machinery", when he took over the command in October 1992.

Ships of this type are no longer allowed to trade in EU waters; from 2010 onward they will not be allowed to call in at any EU port.

For more detailed information see the following Shetlopedia pages: