The MV Kowloon Bridge was built on the River Tees by Swan Hunter for the Bibby Line and originally named English Bridge. In 1977, the vessel was renamed Worcestershire, as the fourth vessel to carry that name in the Bibby Line fleet. In 1979, the vessel was sold to Amroth Investments and renamed Sunshine.[2]
The vessel was renamed a further three times, before then becoming known as Kowloon Bridge. The vessel's last voyage was between Sept-Îles, Quebec, Canada, headed for the River Clyde with a cargo of iron ore and oil.
On 20 November 1986, she anchored in Bantry Bay, Republic of Ireland, after developing deck cracking in one of her frames during her Atlantic crossing. She was forced to leave port after losing her anchor and damaging her steering gear to avoid colliding with an oil tanker also anchored in Bantry Bay. Royal Air Force helicopters rescued the crew and the Kowloon Bridge was effectively abandoned with her engine running astern, heading away from the Irish coast. A tugboat that tried to reach her had to abandon the salvage attempt after she too sustained storm damage. The wind turned her around and she headed back towards the coast, nearly entering Baltimore Bay when her propeller hit the rocks, stalling the engine. Within hours, Kowloon Bridge drifted east and ran aground on a submerged reef near The Stags rocks off West Cork in the Republic of Ireland. The resulting fuel spill spread out over the Irish coastline causing extensive damage to local wildlife, and financial losses for the local fishing fleet. In the spring of 1987, Kowloon Bridge split into three sections and sank.[1]
kowloon, bridge, bridge, class, bulk, combination, carrier, built, swan, hunter, 1973, sank, coast, republic, ireland, december, 1986, model, english, bridgehistorynameenglish, bridge, 1973, 1977, worcestershire, 1977, 1979, sunshine, 1979, 1980, murcurio, 198. MV Kowloon Bridge was a Bridge class ore bulk oil combination carrier built by Swan Hunter in 1973 She sank off the coast of the Republic of Ireland in December 1986 Model of English BridgeHistoryNameEnglish Bridge 1973 1977 Worcestershire 1977 1979 Sunshine 1979 1980 Murcurio 1980 1983 Crystal Transporter 1983 1984 Kowloon Bridge 1984 1986 OwnerBibby Line 1973 1979 Amroth Investments 1979 Helinger 19 1986 Port of registryHong KongBuilderSwan HunterLaunched25 September 1972IdentificationIMO number 7227932FateSank in December 1986 wreck located 51 28 N 09 14 W 51 467 N 9 233 W 51 467 9 233General characteristicsClass and typeBridge class combination carrierTonnage89 438 GT 1 Length294 2 m 965 ft 3 in Beam44 3 m 145 ft 4 in Draft18 44 m 60 ft 6 in Ice classA1Installed powerB amp W 8K98FFPropulsion1 x propellerSpeed15 5 knots 28 7 km h 17 8 mph Crew28 Contents 1 History 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksHistory EditThe MV Kowloon Bridge was built on the River Tees by Swan Hunter for the Bibby Line and originally named English Bridge In 1977 the vessel was renamed Worcestershire as the fourth vessel to carry that name in the Bibby Line fleet In 1979 the vessel was sold to Amroth Investments and renamed Sunshine 2 The vessel was renamed a further three times before then becoming known as Kowloon Bridge The vessel s last voyage was between Sept Iles Quebec Canada headed for the River Clyde with a cargo of iron ore and oil On 20 November 1986 she anchored in Bantry Bay Republic of Ireland after developing deck cracking in one of her frames during her Atlantic crossing She was forced to leave port after losing her anchor and damaging her steering gear to avoid colliding with an oil tanker also anchored in Bantry Bay Royal Air Force helicopters rescued the crew and the Kowloon Bridge was effectively abandoned with her engine running astern heading away from the Irish coast A tugboat that tried to reach her had to abandon the salvage attempt after she too sustained storm damage The wind turned her around and she headed back towards the coast nearly entering Baltimore Bay when her propeller hit the rocks stalling the engine Within hours Kowloon Bridge drifted east and ran aground on a submerged reef near The Stags rocks off West Cork in the Republic of Ireland The resulting fuel spill spread out over the Irish coastline causing extensive damage to local wildlife and financial losses for the local fishing fleet In the spring of 1987 Kowloon Bridge split into three sections and sank 1 See also EditMV DerbyshireReferences Edit a b Irish Wrecks On Line MV Kowloon Bridge Retrieved 17 February 2012 Bibby Line The Ships List Archived from the original on 4 February 2012 Retrieved 17 February 2012 External links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to IMO 7227932 1 2 Center for Tankship Excellence51 17 N 9 08 W 51 28 N 09 14 W 51 28 09 14 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title MV Kowloon Bridge amp oldid 1165797709, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
