Three in One (salvage of the MT BETELGEUSE)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ย. 2012
- Op 8 januari 1979 ontplofte de BETELGEUSE terwijl zij afgemeerd lag in Bantry Bay, Whiddy Island, Ierland. Pim Korver Film maakte een 45 minuten documentaire over de berging die 1,5 jaar in beslag nam - met de titel "Three in One" - die eigenlijk uit 3 mini documentaires bestaat. Het schip was tijdens de explosies in 3 stukken gebroken en deels gezonken, en voor ieder deel moest een andere bergingstechniek worden gebruikt. ©PKFV
On 8 januari 1979 the oil tanker BETELGEUSE exploded while moored at Bantry Bay, Whiddy Island, Ierland. Pim Korver Film made a 45 minutes documentary on the salvage that took 1.5 years - named "Tree in One" - while it actually were 3 mini documentaries; the ship had broken in tree due to the explosion and parts of it sunk, which required different salvage techniques for each part. ©PKFV - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
That was an awesome salvage operation, successfully executed; but we must not forget that 50 people died on that night of 09 January 1979 when a substandard vessel split in two and caught fire as she was alongside an isolated marine island terminal where safety and fire-fighting measures had been dangerously downgraded by the terminal operator, Gulf Oil. Bantry will always remember that day, commemorated especially on 09 January 2019. One of my friends lost his father on that day; many other families also grieved.
How Was the tanker substandard? Was it poor maintenance? I've read it was at the end of its service life but it was only 11 years old. Most tankers seem to last 15 to 20 years even up to 25 years.
@@bobbyrayofthefamilysmith24 Yes, badly corroded ballast tanks ... investigative report said the interiors were rotted & covered with rust. Ship owner could have used protective coating to stop the rust, but they didn't (to save money).
The aft was creeepy. I know that’s where the fire and death was, but still…
@@philippal8666 The after part of the ship was indeed where some of the crew died, while others died in the water after jumping overboard. The interior of any vessel which has been underwater for a considerable time is always horrible, muddy, everything disturbed by the action of the sea, and a feeling of where a tragedy has occurred. Thank you for your comment, Philippa
@@jackosullivan3913 Some also died while sheltering in place on the off shore jetty, one of them was my Uncle, if only the shore staff could have kept a better lookout, instead of playing cards maybe some of those men would have been saved.
RIP to the 50 people who died when the tanker exploded and diver who died in the salvage operation
Geweldig om te zien, mijn opa was kapitein van de Barracuda. Mijn vader was tevens werkzaam bij Smit als Supervising Engineer. Een stukje Hollandse glorie.
Watch Wes work sent me here! I’m glad I watched this. It was awesome and I love the heavy 70’s everything lol thanks Wes!
I was sent here too by him
40 years later..still amazing. glad for the documentary.
40 years later, someone would complain that the narrator used the word "men" for the people involved in the salvage operations, and that the team was too white and women were underrepresented ;)
Ya just know its 1979 when the workers have no hard hats or harnesses or that the guy spray painting and has no Mask and a cigarette in his hand. Those were the days!
Wat hebben jullie mannen een knap staaltje werk geleverd een wereld primeur, Nederland stond weer op de kaart, maar ook Smit Tak topwerk !!!👍😁 Bedankt voor deze documentaire 🤩
5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐.
I remember the bang which woke the whole family up even though we were 10 miles away. I remember seeing various stages of the salvage as a child. Great to see what really went on a Whiddy,
Smit Tak is a wonderful company with a world renowned reputation, earned by the skill of its employees.👏
Yes, they are an outstanding world renowned company!!! you should see their offices in Houston, Texas and their location on the water in Baytown Texas! It’s huge!! negative. Scratch that.!!! it’s actually, LEVIATHAN-SIZE!!
A tragedy that will never be forgotten between the old and young the story will always be told.
Man those guys really know what they are doing. What a dangerous job.
I love this channel, My grandfather used to work for Smit Salvage. When i was younger he used to show me video's of salvages, my favorite one was the autocarrier Herrald of Free Enterprise in Zeebrugge
When you look at the stern you realise the term 'explosion' doesn't do it justice. The documentary itself was remarkable, and fair play to the
camera team who went on board to take the internal shots......
@** they removed it before they raised it, but it was almost completely flattened, you can see photos of it before it sank online.
Karen Jaap Pols was his name , ik remember the tug Barracude from Maassluis the Netherlands never forget Jaap Pols a hero .
Pim, I have waited many years to see good,clear versions of this film and the "Herald Of Free Enterprise" in English... I have rough copies of both.... For a man that loves Smit and marine salvage in general, these films are true Legends!!!!, Fantastic films telling of herculean feats!! Thank you so much for sharing these true classics of the Dutch Salvage industry. Awsome!!, TimT.
I remember in the early 2000s there was a documentary on one of the discovery channels about the salvage of fishing boat that was wrecked on a beach, I think in Alaska. I must've watched that more than 5 times.
The guy with the fishing pole must have got some good Intel from those divers🤣
I know mate. I tickled me when I saw him glide by with his rod. I expected to see him having a bollocking. 👍.
Those guys know what they're doing, that's for sure. Great job, and good documentary.
Thanks for this one. I remember being in Ireland and seeing the stern section on the barge when I was on holiday. A fantastic achievement by you all.
I knew Willem in person great person RIP
Simply fantastic. Deepest respect and condolences to all involved.
Now that's what I call "MANS WORK". Great video. :-))
As a native of Cork (the county where this took place) this is a fascinating video! I was only 3 at the time but I have vague memories of the disaster. I'm amazed at the complexity and sheer scale of the operation. Thanks for sharing!
Do you still live in GORK? I mean Pork? Shit. I mean CORK!!!! do you still live in Nork?? Jesus H Christ!!!!!!! Cork!!!
CORK! Dammit!! CORK!!! do you still live in Cork????? you don’t know how much I wish my spellcheck worked!!!!!!!!!
@@garlandremingtoniii1338 grow up dickead, only a clown replys to a 10 year old comment
I'm blown away at the scale of this operation, the organization, skill, and know how, all evidenced in this doco. Well done all involved.
Impressive, cool 70’s music and narration.
Awesome salvage operation ❤
27:11 spraying the block, no mask and a ciggy in his hand .. how times have changed ay
Also how they used polystyrene. There would be many people these days that would consider the use of the polystyrene worse then the leaked oil..
Reminds me of my childhood. My Dad was a painter and he always had a smoke in his mouth while painting a car.....COPD and Heart Disease was the end result.
reminded me of the military aircraft i worked. It is a sadistic laugh to remember.
Now just need some alcohol for a balanced diet.
and no live jacket insight.
Fifty people died. Only 27 bodies were recovered. A further fatality occurred during the salvage operation with the loss of a Dutch diver, Karen Jaap Pols. These salvage divers are pretty brave people. They'll tell you it's just their job, but there is much more to it than that. I have done some dangerous jobs in my life and wanted to be a salvage diver but never got around to it. I am a certified navy diver though. Rest in peace every life lost in this disaster.
For what country are you a certified naval diver?
RCN. FDU. Canada. @@garlandremingtoniii1338
@@garlandremingtoniii1338 I miss it. It's been 35 years since I have gotten wet.
Sad loss of life and amazing salvage operation.
that was awesome, the engineering and the scale of the operation..
Yeah, not Mickey Mouse at all......
Excellent work by Smit salvage
Amazing, those guys tackled this like they were having a walk in the park. Looks like very dangerous work indeed. Great film that's well shot. I never knew this went on the year after. I remember the morning after that happened in January '79, there was a big black smoke cloud over the town I lived in, and that was a long way from Bantry.
Absolutely amazing a pleasure to watch ☺👍👍👍
Besides the missing mention of those who passed away from this event, of those 500+ days for this job, how many were down time due to bad weather? The majority of the hands-on work in salvage operations cannot be done in bad weather.
Watched that a while back. Was hooked on salvage vids at the time. Some others on streaming channels, too. Hulu, NF, etc. Huge salvage going on in St. Simon Sound, GA. The MV Golden Ray, a RORO (roll on / roll off) car carrier headed to the Middle East with a load of ~4,200 cars, mostly Hyundai and Kia.
Wow, impressive salvage operation!
Incredible job! Nice film of Pim Korver.
Amazing work my all involved
Great video. Mighty men to undertake the salvage. A terrible tragedy as a result of H&S failings
Dat brengt hele mooie herinneringen naar boven, bedankt Pim!
That must’ve been some horrific explosion to cause the damage that was apparent. Awesome skill to perform thar feat of engineering.
I went to bantry 6 years ago especially for this place, unfortunately the little museum was closed that week but it was very impressive to see where it happened, crazy times back then.
No way is he carrying a fishing rod at 30:58 🤣 break time lads, who’s for a fish dinner tonight?
I wondered if he was actually carrying a fishing pole! Pre-oiled fish for dinner.
Fish and chips please Send me some I'm over in Connecticut USA
Great day for fish'n ain' it?
screw this shit im going fishing
@@russwentz3957
white fish or oily fish chaps ?
I remember the explosion well I heard it live 18km away two people I knew died in the disaster, many of the Smittech people in the film stayed in the hotel I worked at too. Very sad times
It's amazing to see how the company developed between this salvage and later ones... the anchor chain saw blade! lol
Yes, having come here from the MSC Napoli salvage...I agree.
Now they use diamond chain from the marbel industy into cut wrecks even though engineblock, ms tricolor.
i was looking for the chain saw,just to realize it was the plain chain,just that.
200 tons of polystyrene balls! I thought emptying a bean bag was a chore! 😂
RIP to the sailors, and oil workers who lost their lives
Excellent documentary. Amazing feat of engineering. Perhaps could have done without the triumphant music, 50 men had perished on that ship, plus a diver during the salvage operation.
Wow, I am not surprised a diver died. Seriously hazardous diving work.
@davetileguy note that this was in 1979; different times, different rules....
PKFVchannel Ya. that is one of the most notable things about this video.
Yep, and hordes died on the job or of cancer at far earlier years than today, and they all deaf and blind by long before. Good riddance to bad work practice
Excellent documentary film, produced to a high professional standard. Just one comment. It makes no mention of the diver who was killed in the operation. Sure, any industrial process involves risk, but one loss of life is too many.
How was he killed?
@@brentbarnhart5827 The death of the diver is widely reported, but without detail. The guy was actually a 'diving supervisor'. If you find out what happened then let me know.
Or the 50 people who died in the explosion
The poor bastards that were Killed on this , what horrible deaths. These Men have Balls I cant imagine, especially the Divers working on it.
Oddly enough, you don't see feminists demanding these high paying jobs!
My father was one of the recovery divers tasked with finding the bodies of the people that were killed by the explosion
Did they find anything? Large explosions can make people completely disappear.
@@nickbreen287 My father told me that a lot of the crew was still on the dock and that the smell was incredibly unpleasant.
Anything that they found underwater that looked as though it could be a body or part of a body was placed in plastic bags and left for the Garda divers.
He said that there was so much crude all over the place that it was difficult to tell what could have been a head or just a ball of oil.
@@PieAndChips imagine however unpleasant that job would be. Diving into a wreck to collect bodies.
Aparently the ship was really worn out and at the end of its service life after just 11 years.
So apparently the motor tanker Betelgeuse was a real rust bucket by that point.
Polystyrene just wouldn't do now. Bet any that got into the sea is still there now in various sea creatures, and us..................by now.
very impressive work!
Verry nice documentaire......
Keep up the good work SMITTAK
No mention of the dutch diver who died during the salvage operation.
sorry to hear he died how did it happen
the crew and some dock workers were also killed
ernie w aaaaaa.----------
Really? And no mention? That sucks. Lawyer negotiated non disclosure agreements/payment perhaps.
50 people also died when the tanker exploded
Brave men
Interesting record of the recovery. There is a reference on Wikipedia titled The Whiddy Island Disaster, which has some info on the aftermath of the incident.
Very nice work!!
Too bad that the Control Room operator was absent, which was later covered up and the terminal fire engine failed to start....
Interesting watch.👍
I was expecting to hear something about the diver who died during the salvage operation. Strange that they did not mention it at all. Otherwise a very interesting documentary
Great documentary. Must be a good job to have👍👍🇬🇧. I’m
Let's raise a tall cool beer 🍻 or two to SMIT TAK, best Marine salvage company in the world. Those fellas handled the MT Betelgeuse ,Herald of Free Enterprise,Costa Concordia, and I would have to figure many other wrecked vessels.
Excellent video!
Geweldig dat deze op TH-cam staat :D
Superb video.really enjoyed.
In a way, I feel the polystyrene floating was Mythbusters ping pong salvage proven well before they were a thing. I get now that we realize the potential environmental impacts of it but at the same time they used what they had available and did a dang good job of it too.
The force of the blast that ripped through the ship is evident from the twisted handrails in the engine room. Anyone there would have died instantly.
41 years ago today.....geez.
30:58 - Yeah, just doing a spot of fishing....nothing to see here mate.................
LOL I saw that......
Good doco.
Amazing what man can do.
Man was responsible for the disaster & over 50 deaths.
@@raymomull2258well let's face it, the motor tanker Betelgeuse had gotten to be kind of a rust bucket back then, also she did not possess a loadicator, not to mention an inert gas system to purge the explosive vapors from the tanks.... Hell's bells I'm surprised that she even safely left Ras Tanura to begin with!
Man man wat een knap staaltje werk
Be interesting to know what the cost of the operation was.
Back in 1979 they didn't think about the polystyrene balls as we would now.
Cool video
I sure hope that polystyrene bubbles are no longer in the tool kit. It may be worse than the oil.
Basically that's what they used back then.
She was like The Edmond Fitzgerald. Old,worn out ,and overloaded
Bullshit, She was only 2 ears old when this happened..
@@MrBugsier5 The M.T Betelgeuse was a good ten years old by 1978
@@PieAndChips still not that old though most have 15 to 25 year service life. Was the maintenance poor? Was she built substandard?
@@bobbyrayofthefamilysmith24 From what I have read, the ship was very poorly maintained.
Edmund Fitzgerald was only 17 years old and had been recently refitted three years before she sank.
They didn't mention diver who died during the operation, no safety helmets can you imagine that today.
Around 8pm Saturday night. TH-cam be like, I think you want to watch some ship salvage. Damn you TH-cam.... I'm now on my 3rd salvage video.
The size and scope of this operation is mind boggling. I wonder what the total cost was in USD.
Back in 1979 the cost was $50 mil. The liability cost was $120 mil.
I wonder how this compares with the Costa Concordia? Still, very impressive and in very cold water.
I LOVE SALVAGE JOB
From PT TOSAN RAJAWALI KEMALA,
Marine Salvage & Wreck Removal, Company From Indonesia.
Regard,
Andre Setiawan van Kempen.
The Wreak removal of the Capsized Coasts Concirdia that is also raised by Smit lodly too.
it wasnt.... although smit was involved.
No way they'd ever get clearance to use polystyrene balls now. Imagine the clean up after that! Crude coated poly styrene balls, 110 tons of them, straight to landfill
They Will burn just fine...
Ping pong balls have Bern used lager on in history...
@@ice2dice gotta catch 'em first, try that in a light breeze
Deeply impressive; no wonder Smit Tak have their reputation. Practice for the Kursk later? Gea
Loving these salvage vids. 😉 classic 📺
Back before drones were used to make the entire video.
Seems to be a Dutch specialty even today no? Just from programs I’ve watched, I have no firsthand knowledge
Which dredgers where used to dredge around the aft section?
oil and polysystrene
what was the cost of the the salvage?
2:38 nobody would do this today
i love that music at the end :)
i wish i knew what ... well even to call it like what genre is that
1970's didn't you see Charlie's Angels start at the end?
Amazing...
super indeed!
how did the diver die?
How did the diver get killed?