Full Load Draft: 11.50 m
Engine:
One diesel engine of 15,000 HP
When Built: September 1965
Shipbuilder: Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co., Ltd.
Cruising Speed: 14.8 knots
(Damage)
Fracture of the hull of the "Bolivar Maru" near the No. 2 cargo hold, resulting in sinking; killing the Master and other 30 crew members, and injuring two persons.
Formal Adjudication
As for the cause of this accident, it is presumed that, on top of the fact that the "Bolivar Maru" had insufficient strength in her side structure and double bottom when she was laden with iron ore in her cargo holds alternately, the inside of the ballast tanks were corroded more than expected and, as a result, stresses were concentrated on corroded portions of the main steel structural members of the hull, which led to a fracture near the No. 2 cargo hold. The state of the fracture of the hull, however, cannot be ascertained and, in addition, there is a possibility that other causes, singly or in conbination, might have contributed to the fracture of the hull. All in all, it is impossible to determine the proximate cause of the accident in question.
Reason
The social climate surrounding the shipping industry at the time of the construction of the "Bolivar Maru" and the history leading to the construction of the vessel are as follows:
On July 1, 1963, in order to improve our international balance of payments, particularly in terms of helping our marine industry recover from a deficit, and strengthen the competitiveness of shipping companies, the so-called two laws for the reconstruction of the shipping industry were enacted and promulgated: namely the "Temporary Measures Law concerning the Reconstruction and Improvement of the Shipping Industry" and the "Law to Partially Revise the Law for the Provision of Subsidies of Interest on Loans for the Construction of Ships Engaged in Foreign Trade and Loss Compensation and the Temporary Measures Law for the Provision of Subsidies of Interest on Loans for the Construction of Ships Engaged in Foreign Trade in Relation to the Japan Development Bank". Following this, toward the end of the same year, further heated debates were made on the improvement of the international balance of payments, with Japan's transfer expected in the next spring to the Article VIII state status of IMF's Articles of Agreement, and admission as a member to the OECD coming soon. The Japanese government decided to study again the construction of a large number of ships engaged in foreign trade as part of the measures to improve the balance of payments in shipping which accounted for the largest portion of the balance of invisible trade. In line with this policy, the Ministry of Transport proceeded with studies with the target of improving the balance of payments in shipping, tonnage necessary to achieve it, required funds and measures to implement the tonnage expansion project, and released on February 27, 1964, "measures to improve the balance of payments in shipping" as follows:
