Lykes Liberator

The incident

On 2 February 2002, the container ship the Lykes Liberator, reported the loss of 60 containers in rough sea west of Sein island. One of those was an open container holding 3 tanks of chemicals (diethyl aluminium iodide and diethyl zinc toluene). Those 3 tanks, empty but not inerted, floated and drifted at sea.

Spill response and crisis management

• Information research on products:
• Identification of the products: It took five days to gain access to the vessel’s manifesto, which contained precise information on the products (risks of explosion and combustion).
• Drift model: The MOTHY model (from Météo France) indicated that the lost tanks would reach Ushant on 5 February.
• Recovery at sea:
• Location: The tanks were signalled near the Ushant rail on 8 February.
• Operations: They were collected by the Abeille Flandre and the Alcyon on 10 February, then delivered to the supplier (Albemarle) in Brest on 11 February.

Results

• Cooperation: Effectiveness of the coordination between the Maritime prefecture, CEDRE, Météo France, and the supplier.
• Container’s floatability: Difficult to predict without precise data on the container and its content.
• Reactivity in the access to information on the cargo: Importance of quick access to manifesto (bill of lading) to assess and prevent risks for human health and the environment.