MV Spartan Lady

MV Spartan Lady was an oil tanker that sank in 1975.

It was built by Wilton-Fijenoord, and was launched on October 16, 1954, and delivered in January 1955 as Sologne.[1] it measured 170 metres (560 ft) with a beam of 22.6 metres (74 ft) and a deadweight tonnage of 19,788 DWT.[1] it was powered by a single diesel engine that gave it a service speed of 14.5 knots (16.7 mph).[1] In 1972, it was renamed Spartan Lady, and at the time of its loss was flagged in Liberia, owned by Compania Marittma Laconia, and operated by Sea Spartan Steamship Agency.[2][1]

On April 4, 1975, Spartan Lady was sailing through heavy seas about 150 miles (240 km) south of Martha's Vineyard[3] when it sent a distress call at about 0810 local time.[2] The United States Coast Guard dispatched four helicopters that arrived about two hours later, by which time the vessel had split in two.[2] The Coast Guard airlifted all 36 crew members from the ship, though one subsequently died en route to shore.[2] The survivors were flown to Coast Guard facilities on Governor's Island in New York and in Hyannis, Massachusetts.[2] Spartan Lady's cargo of 500,000 gallons of oil was spilled into the ocean, though it was driven away from the coastline.[2] It took several days for the wreckage of the ship to sink, and the Coast Guard eventually had to sink the bow section with gunfire.[3]