The ship’s master requested permission to dump cargo in an effort to control draft and re-float the vessel.

Permission was denied and attempts to lighter and re-float the vessel using emergency pumps and an anti-pollution transfer system were unsuccessful.

The Argo Merchant was built in Hamburg, Germany and was launched in December 1953 as the Arcturus, under Liberian registry. It was 641 feet long with a 35-foot draft, and 28,870 DWT.

This starboard side elevation and deck plan for the TTS Argo Merchant indicates the cargo tanks.

The shallow waters and weather conditions made it impossible to offload the oil or salvage the Argo Merchant.

After its crew evacuated, the tanker broke apart and spilled its entire cargo of fuel.

The spill posed a threat to the Georges Bank, a huge and historically productive fishing ground used by fishermen from New England and Atlantic Canada.

The resources that were at risk from the impacts of the oil included the region’s commercial fisheries, fish and marine mammals in the region of the spill, and diving coastal birds.

On December 17, 1976, the vessel began to pivot clockwise and buckle. On December 21, the vessel broke in two, spilling approximately 36,000 barrels of cargo. The bow section split forward of the bridge and capsized on December 22, resulting in the loss of the remaining cargo.

The incident is still one of the largest oil spills in U.S. history, and one of the first spills where NOAA had a significant scientific response role. The Argo Merchant wreckage remains on the shoal today.

Back in December 1976, NOAA released these plastic cards from Nantucket Shoals to get an idea of the movement of the Argo Merchant spilled oil. Several of these drift cards have been found over the years in Ireland and France. Drift cards used today are thin, biodegradable pieces of wood, colored with bright non-toxic paint.

The back of the drift card shows the logo for the U.S. Department of Commerce and the following information: OCSEA Program Office NOAA/ERL (RX4) Boulder, CO. 80302 U.S.A. Thank you for your help. You may keep this card as a souvenir. Upon receipt of your reply, we will send you a certificate of appreciation describing our research.