Name Castillo de Salas Tonnage 51,000 GT
109,488 DWT Launched August 1980 Builders ASTANO, Fene | Type Bulk carrier Beam 40 m (131 ft 3 in) Length 261 m | |
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Owner Empresa Nacional Elcano Fate Wrecked, 11 January 1986 | ||
The Castillo de Salas was a Spanish bulk carrier that was launched in Ferrol in August, 1980. It weighed over 50,000 tons, displaced over 100,000 tons of water, measured approximately 250 metres (820 ft) in length, 40 metres (130 ft) across the beam, and 14.5 metres (48 ft) in draft. It required a crew complement of 32.
Contents
Disaster
During the morning of January 11, 1986 the Castillo de Salas, property of the Spanish company "Elcano", ran aground over rocks 740 metres North/North-west of Gijón. The ship was anchored outside Gijón's seaport (El Musel) when the ship's anchor came loose in bad weather. Efforts to re-anchor, self-propel and even tow the ship away from the coast failed due to harsh seas. The cargo was nearly 100,000 metric tonnes of coal loaded in Norfolk, Virginia as well as over 1000 tonnes of fuel-oil used for propulsion.
On January 15, 1986 the hull broke in two during efforts to bring the ship afloat, therefore releasing a spill of diesel oil and coal ore.
On February 23, 1986 the bow half of the hull was refloated, towed 39 miles (63 km) into the sea and scuttled in waters of 4000 metres in depth. Officials stated that no diesel oil was left in the bow section of the hull. During the following spring, the company "Fondomar" was tasked with scrapping the remainder of the stern portion of the hull.
Second salvage of the stern section
Small balls of decomposed oil were found sporadically since until 2001, when a major find of these balls was confirmed to be from fuel remaining in the double bottom fuel tank of the stern section that was not removed in 1986. This led to a second salvage operation to remove the fuel during 2001-2002 and the complete the removal of the remainder of the wreck in 2003 due to public out-cry.
Trophies
On November 15, 2003 Gijón artist Joaquín Rubio Camín's sculpture "Memoria" (Memory) was unveiled on the Camino del Cervigón overlooking the sea. The sculpture was made using part of the remains of the Castillo de Salas which sank off Gijón and were recovered earlier in the year.
One of the ship's anchors is displayed in the Philippe Cousteau Anchor Museum in Salinas beach, Spain, 30 km west of Gijón.
Side effects
Since the accident, it is common to find dark sand contaminated with coal on the beaches in the Bay of Gijón, particularly after rough sea conditions. The amounts recovered continue to reduce over time, but patches of dark coloured sand, high in black coal particles, can be seen at low tide.