Technicans navigate the ROV around the sunken World War II tanker S.S. Montebello, Oct. 12, 2011. Photo by NOAA Robert Schwemmer

After 11 days of survey and sampling using both the latest in technology and physical sampling, no oil remains were found on the sunken World War II tanker, SS Montebello.

An on-scene assessment conducted by the Coast Guard and California Department of Fish and Game’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response of the tanker, which happens to be located just miles from gCaptain’s hometown of Morro Bay, California, has determined that there is no substantial oil threat from the Montebello to the surrounding waters and shorelines.

The S.S. Montebello sank after a Japanese submarine torpedoed the large oil tanker on December 23, 1941. The vessel broke apart landing upright with her bow separated from the majority of the wreckage. At the time of sinking no release of the 3.2 million gallon cargo was observed.

Over the past few days Global Diving & Salvage, working under the direction of the unified command , has assessed cargo and fuel tanks as well as collected ocean floor sediment samples. “Our number one objective for this mission was to determine what threat, if any, the Montebello poses to the waters and shorelines of California,” said Coast Guard Capt. Roger Laferriere. “After careful evaluation of the data, we have concluded with a high level of confidence that there is no oil threat from the S.S. Montebello.”

With the assistance of its Cougar XT ROV Global combined visual and sonar imaginary into 3D models of the vessel. These models where then combined with data from thickness gauging, backscatter tooling, samples of the tank contents  and nearby sediment to determine the results.

“Knowing that this wreck does not pose a significant pollution threat is great news”, says Devon Grennan, President of Global Diving & Salvage, Inc. “The combination of the latest technology, sound planning and project management, excellent collaboration between Federal, State and private enterprise shows the possibilities in investigating these deep water wrecks and the ability to determine the pollution potential.

“This is a new era of prevention,” said DFG OSPR Capt. Chris Graff. “This has been a cooperative partnership using cutting-edge technology and surgical precision. The procedures and techniques used could help conduct threat assessments on other sunken vessels.”

Earlier today the ship USNS Hoyt S. Vandenberg, was sunk about 7 miles off the coast of Key West making it the world’s second-largest intentionally sunk artificial reef. The vessel was originally built during WWII for troop transport but wikipedia sheds light on her subsequent, more interesting, mission:

On 1 July 1964, General Hoyt S. Vandenberg was acquired by the Navy and designated T-AGM-10, as a Missile Range Instrumentation Ship, one of ten such ships transferred from the Commander, Air Force Eastern Test Range, to MSTS. “Equipped with extremely accurate and discriminating radar and telemetry equipment,” she tracked and analyzed “re-entry bodies in the terminal phase of ballistic missile test flights,” carrying out those missile and spacecraft tracking duties in both Atlantic and Pacific waters until her retirement in 1983.[2] She was ultimately stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 29 April 1993.

In 1998, some scenes of the horror/sci-fi film Virus were filmed aboard the ex-General Hoyt S. Vandenberg. The ship substituted for a Russian vessel known as the Akademik Vladislav Volkov, and some of the Cyrillic lettering applied for the film is still visible on the hull today.

Today’s sinking of this historic cold war relic was caught on film by the team at SinkTheVandenberg.com. Here is a preview of the event:

The vessel now sits in 140 feet of clear water and will serve to attract fish, divers and relieve recreational pressure on nearby natural reefs.  Officials expect it to generate up to $8 million in tourism-related revenue for Key West and the state of Florida. The following image will give you an impression of the vessels size:

The following vessel drawing sheds light on the various missile tracking systems found aboard the ship. Click on the photo for the full size image.

More photos of the ship can be found HERE and HERE but we have also attached additional video below.

USNS Vandenberg Video

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Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Discovery Channel also has these interesting reads:

Wreck of British Warship Victory Found and Shipwreck Diary: The Last Days of The HMS Victory

MarineBuzz brings us photos of the M/V Bohai Challenge, being launched on what appears to be Yokohama Fenders (official they’re not Yokohamas). They tell us;

Qingdao Yongtai shipping supplies co.,ltd has come out with a novel product called Intense pneumatic tire for ship lifting, loading and floating. These highstrength pneumatic tubes are useful in cargo boat launching and landing, clog lifting and moving, sunken ships salvaging and stranded boats saving. The product is suitable to launch ships up to 7000 tons.

CLICK HERE for more photos from Marine Buzz.

Also, in researching this post, I came across an excellent transcript from a Nautical Institute presentation by Captain Eric Southworth, Director of FenderCare. He tells us;

Originally, Japanese ships used dead whales as large fenders. They were replaced after WW2, when the Japanese tyre manufacturer ‘Yokohama’ was asked to come up with a suitable man made alternative, hence the birth of “‘Yokohama” fenders. Before 1975 wheel type fenders were commonly used in positions 2 & 3, with “Yokohama “pneumatic fenders in positions 1 & 4. (All four positions are along the parallel midbody). Smaller secondary fenders may be used to protect the bow and stern plating from inadvertent contact during mooring and unmooring.

Read Captain Eric’s full transcript on fender history, use and maintenance HERE.