Anna Broere
May 27 1998: The Anna Broere, sailing from Rotterdam to England, sank after a collision with a Swedish container ship, 52 nm west of Ijmuiden near the deep draft shipping lane (The Netherlands). The cargo of the chemical carrier comprised of 547 tons of acrylonitrile and 500 tons of dodecylbenzene. As a result of the collision the mv Anna Brioere sustained major damage to the hull. The Dutch authorities gave the order to recover the acrylonitrile from the ship because of its hazardous properties; no priority was given to recover dodecylbenzenee as this was considered to be of no harm for the marine environment. Smit Salvage was assigned to recover the wreck including its chemicals.
A safety perimeter of a 10-mile radius and a 300 meter height was set up, inconclusive attempts were made to lift the ship. Acrylonitrile was considered the worst pollutant.
The complete operations took 2 months, due to the hard weather conditions. During the operations air and water quality were constantly measured to ensure the safety of the personnel. On august 5 the Anna Broere was lifted out of the North Sea.
