American Oil Tanker Spills in Panama Canal

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Summary

There is a 4,000 barrel spill in the Panama Canal by the American tanker Texaco Connecticut. A crash tore a 24-foot gash in the hull, which leaked oil as the ship travelled 30 miles to its destination. Subsequent ships passing through the waters quickly dispersed the oil. At one point oil washed ashore along 30 percent of the coastline of Barro Colorado Island, the Smithsonian Institution's 4000-acre biological preserve in Gatun Lake.

Subject

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI)

Category

Chronology of Smithsonian History

Notes

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 371, Box 3, "The Torch," August 1980, p. 2.

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

June 7, 1980

Topic

  • Petroleum industry
  • Accidents
  • Oil spills

Place

  • Barro Colorado Nature Monument (Panama)
  • Barro Colorado Island (Panama)

Full Record

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