Roseleaf

[Gibeltarik]

Hi there,

Can anyone help me please -

On 16 July 1919 an explosion on the British Tanker 'Roseleaf' while in refit at Cardiff was reported in the Chicago Daily Tribune (of all newspapers!) when 26 people were killed. The Roseleaf was an RFA tanker under civil management.

Can anyone help please with any further details of this incident please - who were those who were killed - crew, dockyard staff or members of the public? Another news report gives the death toll as 12 and the explosion was caused by 'gas'.

Your help would be very appreciated please

Gibeltarik

[Wrecktec]

Hi Gibeltarik

according to the TIMES,

Cheers Ron

[phil@basildon]

Tanker explosions are not unusual even today. Crude oil contains methane gas which while it is underground stays within the oil because of the pressure. This gradually is released once the oil is out of the ground. Once it is confined within a tanker the gas gradually is released and the tanker has vents to release this gas, however the space at the top of the tank is still filled with gas. When a tanker is unloaded the oil is pumped from the bottom of the tank, this results in air entering the tank and the resulting mix is highly explosive. Not only oil gives of methane, so does coal. This many people believe to be the reason for the sinking of the Lusitania, the torpedo struck an empty coal bunker and the gas within exploded with disasterouse results. Nowdays they have safety features such as pumping the gas out first and replacing it with an inert gas, but accidents can still happen.

[David B]

I remember much the same sort of thing happened when HMAS Tarakan blew up in Sydney in 1949.

We had been berthed alongside it and only left the afternoon prior. i was believed that a faulty electric pump motor

sparked when they were evacuating the fumes from an empty fuel tank and up she went.

David

[Terence Munson]

Hi - I would say as an ex oil refinery worker of almost 30 years experience the majority of these type of explosions are caused by a static electric spark, usually because basic operating procedures have not being followed by people who should know better, and as stated in an earlier post still happens on a regular basis.

Cheers Terry