SS ROYSTON GRANGE

INCIDENT – 11 MAY 1972

NAME - CHRISS AUGUSTINE JOBIN

REG. NO. – ANS21104
GROUP - 1
BATCH – BSC NS(20)
 SHIPS INVOLVED
SS ROYSTON GRANGE TIEN CHEE
LAUNCHED ON 23 JUNE 1959 • LAUNCHED ON 1955
PORT OF REGISTRY – LONDON • PORT OF REGISTRY - LIBERIA
IMO NUMBER - 5301502 • IMO NUMBER - 5086293
TYPE – REFRIGERATED CARGO LINER • TYPE – CHEMICAL/OILTANKER
• SHIP PARTICULARS - LENGTH:B/W 100-200m
SHIP PARTICULARS – LENGTH:149m, BEAM:20m, DEPTH:8.8m
PROPULSION – 2 STEAM TURBINES • PROPULSION – DIESEL ENGINE
 ABOUT THE INCIDENT
ROUTE AND
LOCATION
Early in the morning of 11 May 1972, Royston Grange
was sailing through the Punta Indio Channel in the River
Plate, bound for Montevideo, Santos and London, having
left Buenos Aires.
 INCIDENT
At around 0540hrs, in dense fog, Royston Grange
collided with the Tien Chee, which was inbound
from Puerto Rosales.

The ships were passing port-to-port when Royston

Grange veered to port and its bow struck the tanker
amidships, holing several wing tanks.

Tien Chee burst into flames, and a series of

explosions resulted in a fireball which engulfed both
ships.
 RESCUE AND RESPONSE
All 74 people on-board Royston Grange was died.
Eight of the 40 seafarers onboard Tien Chee were lost, but the remaining
32 and the ship's pilot managed to escape in lifeboats and were rescued by
Argentine tugs and coastguard vessels. Firefighting efforts were severely
hindered by the intense heat, dense smoke and thick slick of crude oil.
It took almost four days for the fire onboard Royston Grange to be fully
extinguished.
 INVESTIGATION
• Investigations into the accident were almost
immediately opened by Argentina, Liberia and the UK.
• Argentina initially detained Tien Chee’s master,
pending the outcome of its investigation.
• The Liberian investigation had concluded that the
collision had been the consequence of the close
proximity of the two ships in the narrow navigable
channel , leading to the bank rejection.
• The Minister of State for Aerospace and Shipping of
United Kingdom, Michael Heseltine, said that he was
favourably impressed by the quality of the Liberian
Board’s findings and considered that a further inquiry
by the United Kingdom would be unlikely to reach
different conclusions.
 DAMAGES AND DEATH
• The burnt out shell of the Royston Grange was
initially towed to Montevideo.
• In march 1974, Royston Grange was towed to
Barcelona where her scrapping began on 20 may
1979.

• The memorial of the 74 passengers and crew who lost their

lives on Royston grange.
• The grave is in Montevideo, Uruguay.
 AFTER EFFECTS
Efforts to extinguish the flames took 4 days released a substantial
amount of oil into the surrounding waters.
This oil spill posed a severe threat to marine life and coastal
ecosystems, as the toxic substances contained within the oil could
harm aquatic organisms and disrupt the delicate balance of marine
ecosystems.
Cleanup efforts were launched in response to the disaster,
involving the deployment of containment booms, skimmers, and
dispersants to mitigate the spread of oil and minimize its impact on
the environment. However, the scale of the spill and the challenges
posed by rough seas and adverse weather conditions made cleanup
operations difficult and time-consuming.
THANK YOU