PROFILBARU.COM

*Grande America* oil spill
Grande America oil spill
Location	Bay of Biscay, France
Coordinates	46°04′08″N 5°47′04″W / 46.068889°N 5.784444°W
Date	12 March 2019; 5 years ago
Cause
Cause	Foundering of the Grande America cargo ship
Operator	Grimaldi Lines
Spill characteristics
Volume	c. 2,200 tonnes (4,900,000 lb) marine fuel (metric tonnes)
Area	c. 10 km (6.2 mi) × 1 km (0.62 mi)

*Grande America*
	Grande America, Casablanca, c. 2016
History
Name	Grande America
Owner	Grimaldi Group
Operator	Grimaldi Lines
Builder	Fincantieri
Identification	IMO number: 9130937; MMSI number: 247594000; Callsign: IBPG;
Fate	Sank Bay of Biscay, March 2019
General characteristics
Type	Ro-Ro/Container Carrier
Tonnage	27,965 t (27,523 long tons; 30,826 short tons)
Displacement	56,642 t (55,747 long tons; 62,437 short tons)
Length	214 m (702 ft)
Beam	31 m (102 ft)
Installed power	1 diesel engine
Propulsion	single shaft, 1 screw
Speed	14.5 kn (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph)

Grande America was a roll-on/roll-off cargo ship built by Fincantieri in 1997, owned and operated by Grimaldi Lines, a subsidiary of Grimaldi Group. It sank in the Bay of Biscay in March 2019.

Sinking

On 10 March 2019, Grande America caught fire while traveling the Atlantic Ocean between France and Spain on its route from Hamburg (Germany) to Casablanca (Morocco), and sank 4,600 m (15,100 ft) into the Bay of Biscay on 12 March.^[1]^[2] The 27 people on board were rescued by the Royal Navy ship HMS Argyll after they abandoned ship on 11 March.^[3] After their lifeboat's engine broke down entering the water, a Royal Navy sea boat towed it to safety in a 6 m (20 ft) swell. Leading Seaman David Groves, the sea boat coxswain, was later awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal for his bravery in the rescue.^[4]

Oil spill

An oil spill of about 10 km (6.2 mi) in length and 1 km (0.62 mi) in width began moving towards the French coast line, threatening the areas around La Rochelle, Biarritz and Vendée.^[5] The ship was carrying 365 containers, of which 45 contained material deemed to be hazardous, including 10 tonnes of hydrochloric acid and 70 tonnes of sulfuric acid.^[6]

Cargo

The ship contained dozens of vehicles that were to be delivered to Brazilian importers, including 37 Porsche vehicles. Four of these were Porsche's last units of the 911 GT2 RS, which went out of production in February 2019. The sinking led to Porsche reactivating the production line for the Porsche 911 GT2 RS, so that these four last units could be delivered to their owners in Brazil.^[7] The ship was also transporting dozens of Audi cars, including RS4 and RS5 models.^[8]

Wreck

The wreck was located by Island Pride (a vessel leased to Ocean Infinity).^[9] It arrived 30 March and started inspecting the wreck site using remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs).^[10] The ROVs were used to seal light leaks of oil discovered during the inspection.^[11]