How Vulnerable Are Oil Tankers to Hurricanes?

How vulnerable are oil tankers to hurricanes? That was the question Rigzone posed to Aaron Roth, principal and head of federal strategy at security risk management company the Chertoff Group, during an exclusive interview.

In response, Roth told Rigzone that hurricanes present risk to the entire maritime community. 

“There is no ‘safe harbor’ during a hurricane,” Roth warned. 

“The best place for any large vessel is out at sea far away from the hurricane. The energy sector, and especially oil tankers, can be acutely impacted by disruptions from the severe weather,” he added.

“Like other mariners, oil tankers must take evasive action at sea to avoid hurricanes for the safety of the crew, vessel, and cargo,” he continued.

When asked if there is anything oil tankers can do to mitigate the effects of hurricanes, Roth said the sheer size of tankers provides some relief when it comes to handling heavy seas but added that there is no easy answer when it comes to dealing with a hurricane. 

“Ships must go out to sea far away from the hurricane winds and heavy sea state,” he said.  

“The best approach is to get as far away as possible from the hurricane, but if you are forced to pick a side of the storm, choose the left or ‘clean side’ if the storm is on a northerly track,” he added.

Roth also warned in the interview that “we have seen the tragic impact of not avoiding hurricanes with the El Faro in 2015”. 

A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) marine accident report reissued in September 2018 noted that, “on Thursday, October 1, 2015, the SS El Faro … was on a regular route from Jacksonville, Florida, to San Juan, Puerto Rico, when it foundered and sank in the Atlantic Ocean about 40 nautical miles northeast of Acklins and Crooked Island, Bahamas”.

“The ship had sailed directly into the path of Hurricane Joaquin, carrying a crew of 33, including five Polish contract repair workers. All those aboard perished in the sinking,” the report added.

A National Hurricane Center (NHC) report on Hurricane Joaquin published in January 2016 stated that Joaquin “was a category 4 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale) whose strong winds and storm surge devastated Crooked Island, Acklins, Long Island, Rum Cay, and San Salvador in the central and southeastern Bahamas”.

“Joaquin took the lives of 34 people, all at sea, including the 33 crewmembers of the cargo ship El Faro, which sunk during the storm northeast of Crooked Island,” it added.

“Joaquin is the strongest October hurricane known to have affected the Bahamas since 1866 and the strongest Atlantic hurricane of non-tropical origin in the satellite era,” it continued.

In a statement posted on its website back in August, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned that “atmospheric and oceanic conditions continue to support an above-normal 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, with a 90 percent probability of this result”.

“2024 has only a 10 percent chance of a near-normal season and a negligible chance of a below-normal season,” it added at the time.

In a statement posted on its site in May, NOAA warned that its National Weather Service forecasters at the Climate Prediction Center predicted above normal hurricane activity in the Atlantic basin this year.

NOAA revealed in that statement that its outlook for the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season predicted an 85 percent chance of an above normal season, a 10 percent chance of a near normal season, and a five percent chance of a below normal season.

In September, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) activated its hurricane response team in response to two storms – Helene and Francine.

At the time of writing, the NHC website is monitoring two weather disturbances in the Atlantic. One of these is Hurricane Kirk and the other is Tropical Storm Leslie.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com