Anna Broere/Atlantic Compass

Accident

On 27 May 1998, the Dutch chemical carrier Anna Broere, on her way from Rotterdam to England, collided with the Swedish container ship Atlantic Compass 60 nautic miles west of Ijmuiden (The Netherlands). The chemical carrier was severely damaged and sank with its cargo of 547 tons of acrylonitrile and 500 tons of dodecyl benzene.

An exclusion zone with a radius of 10 km and a height of 300 m was therefore set up. Dutch authorities started an operation in order to recover the acrylonitrile (considered as the only pollutant) with the help of a large floating crane. During the intervention, concentrations of acrylonitrile in air and water were continuously monitored due to the safety of the personnel.

Because of hard weather,more than 2 months were required to lift wreck pieces and half of the acrylonitrile cargo.

The other half was not found because it had leaked out and quickly dispersed into the sea. It did cause damage to the marine biota, but not at all as much as it was believed.

Source:

- HELCOM, 2002, HELCOM Response Manual - Volume 2