Hawaiian Patriot

On 23 February 1977, the Hawaiian Patriot was travelling from Indonesia to Honolulu when it hit a storm. A three metre crack appeared in the hull. The ship was transporting 99,000 tonnes of light Indonesian crude oil, of which over 17,500 tonnes escaped from the crack into the sea.

The following day, the oil tanker went on fire. The vessel exploded and sank with the remaining cargo onboard. The crew leapt overboard and were picked up by the merchantman Philippine Bataan, which was present in the area at the time.

One crew member was killed in the accident. The oil slick (50,000 tonnes) drifted westwards, away from Hawaii, and dispersed in the water column. The pollution was monitored although no response actions were carried out.
No oil was washed up onshore.

Sources:

- N. Hooke, Maritime Casualties 1963-1996, p; 268

- Alain R. Bertrand. Transport Maritime et pollution accidentelle par le pétrole – Faits et chiffres (1951-1999), p. 89 et p. 95.

- James N. Butler, The largest oil spills: INCONSISTENCIES, INFORMATION GAPS, Oct 1978 OCEAN INDUSTRY

- ITOPF Information Services, Case Histories - H