MV Kowloon Bridge
{{EngvarB|date=December 2017}}
{{Short description|British oil combination carrier}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}
| {{Infobox ship begin
}} {{Infobox ship image | Ship image = Model of the M.V. English Bridge.jpg | Ship image size = 250px | Ship caption = Model of English Bridge }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = | Ship country = | Ship flag = | Ship name = *English Bridge (1973–1977)
| Ship namesake = | Ship owner = *Bibby Line (1973–1979)
| Ship operator = | Ship registry = {{flagicon|Hong Kong|1959}} Hong Kong | Ship route = | Ship ordered = | Ship awarded = | Ship builder = Swan Hunter | Ship original cost = | Ship yard number = | Ship way number = | Ship laid down = | Ship launched = 25 September 1972 | Ship sponsor = | Ship christened = | Ship completed = | Ship acquired = | Ship commissioned = | Ship recommissioned = | Ship decommissioned = | Ship maiden voyage = | Ship in service = | Ship out of service = | Ship renamed = | Ship reclassified = | Ship refit = | Ship struck = | Ship reinstated = | Ship homeport = | Ship identification = {{IMO Number|7227932}} | Ship motto = | Ship nickname = | Ship honours = | Ship honors = | Ship captured = | Ship fate = Sank in December 1986, wreck located {{coord|51|28|N|09|14|W}} | Ship notes = | Ship badge = }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = | Ship class = {{sclass2|Bridge|OBO carrier|0}} combination carrier | Ship type = | Ship tonnage = {{GT|89,438}}{{cite web|title=Irish Wrecks On-Line|url=http://www.irishwrecksonline.net/details/KowloonBridge548.htm|work=MV Kowloon Bridge|accessdate=17 February 2012}} | Ship displacement = | Ship length = {{convert|294.2|m|ftin|abbr=on}} | Ship beam = {{convert|44.3|m|ftin|abbr=on}} | Ship height = | Ship draught = | Ship draft = {{convert|18.44|m|ftin|abbr=on}} | Ship depth = | Ship hold depth = | Ship decks = | Ship deck clearance = | Ship ramps = | Ship ice class = A1 | Ship power = B&W 8K98FF | Ship propulsion = 1 x propeller | Ship sail plan = | Ship speed = {{convert|15.5|kn|lk=in}} | Ship range = | Ship endurance = | Ship test depth = | Ship boats = | Ship capacity = | Ship troops = | Ship complement = | Ship crew = 28 | Ship time to activate = | Ship sensors = | Ship EW = | Ship armament = | Ship armour = | Ship armor = | Ship aircraft = | Ship aircraft facilities = | Ship notes = }} |
MV Kowloon Bridge was a {{sclass2|Bridge|OBO carrier|0}} ore-bulk-oil combination carrier built by Swan Hunter in 1973. She sank off the coast of the Republic of Ireland in December 1986.
History
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.{{cite web |title=Bibby Line |url=http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/bibby.html |publisher=The Ships List |access-date=17 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204035055/http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/bibby.html |archive-date=4 February 2012|df=dmy-all}}
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.
See also
- {{MV|Derbyshire}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|IMO 7227932}}
- [http://www.irishwrecksonline.net/details/KowloonBridge548.htm]
- [http://www.divesitedirectory.co.uk/dive_site_ireland_cork_baltimore_wreck_kowloon_bridge.html]
- {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110725113020/http://www.c4tx.org/ctx/job/cdb/precis.php5?key=19861118_001 Center for Tankship Excellence]}}
{{coord|51.28|N|09.14|W|type:landmark|display=title}}
{{Bridge class OBO carrier}}
{{1986 shipwrecks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kowloon Bridge}}
Category:Shipwrecks in the Celtic Sea
Category:Maritime incidents in 1986
Category:Ships built by Swan Hunter