Raining Rivets Over Los Angeles Harbor
Some ship disasters start at sea, but Sansinena died tied up to the pier. On 17 December 1976, the 810 ft oil tanker Sansinena exploded while berthed at the Union Oil Terminal in Los Angeles Harbor. She had arrived the previous morning and finished discharging crude by the afternoon of the 17th. Later that day, the crew started ballasting and also bunkering fuel oil. Her cargo tank vents were open, which was normal when not loaded. Around 7:30 pm, witnesses reported two huge blasts. The first was just aft of midships with a cloud of vapor, then a bigger explosion that tore her apart. The midships deckhouse was thrown about 750 ft into the air and came down on the terminal, while fire wrapped the bow section as she settled. The aft end took less structural damage, but it was still engulfed, and survivors climbed down from the stern.
The toll was brutal and the damage spread far beyond the ship. Two men working on deck were killed, six more died in the mess, and a dock security guard was also killed. Dozens were hurt, including 22 crew and 36 other people, some hit by shrapnel as pieces of hot steel scattered like burning rivets across a wide area. A nearby fireboat arrived within minutes and pulled 18 men from the water, but the shore side shutoff gear was destroyed and crude kept pouring out, with reports putting the spill at over 500,000 gallons. Crews contained it with booms and let the fire burn out over four days before they could secure valves and finish extinguishing it. The ship and terminal were later removed, with losses reported at about $21.6 million, and the disaster helped drive later US rules on tanker operations and oil transfers, including changes tied to the 1978 Port and Tanker Safety Act.