The Liberian registered VLCC was
en route from the Persian Gulf to Europe, when a massive wave in the early morning of 16 Mar damaged her steering gear off western Brittany. The storm pushed the ship against the Breton coast and she grounded on the Roches de Portsall.
The crew of 43 was rescued by two
SA321 from the Aéronautique Navale on 17 Mar. By that afternoon, the tanker broke in two and 220,000 tonnes of light crude oil and 4,000 tonnes of fuel oil were spilled, making it the worst environmental oil-spill disaster, to date.
