RUBEN in SEIGNOSSE

L'EPOPEE DU RUBEN.

Le cargo panaméen RUBEN, lancé sous le nom de DELIA en 1951 par les chantiers navals Weser à Brême, a quitté Bayonne dans la soirée du 29 novembre 1976. Il fait route au nord, cap sur Dunkerque. Il se trouve au large de Lacanau lorsque la tempête se lève, tard dans la soirée du 30 novembre. Pendant la nuit, il tombe en panne et commence à dériver.

Le 1er janvier, le capitaine finlandais du RUBEN, âgé de 72 ans, envoie son premier appel de détresse. Le remorqueur de haute mer allemand PACIFIC n’est pas loin, mais il ne peut venir à la rescousse du cargo panaméen, car au même moment, il essaie de remorquer le tanker APOLLONIAN WAVE. La nuit est horrible. Plusieurs fois, le RUBEN est sur le point de chavirer.
Le lendemain, le navire n'est plus très loin de la côte landaise. L’évacuation aérienne de l’équipage est impossible parce que le navire roule trop et que ses mâts de charge rendent l’opération de sauvetage trop dangereuse.

Le 3 décembre, le RUBEN talonne à plusieurs reprises non loin de la plage de Mimizan où le VIRGO et l'APOLLONIAN WAVE se sont échoués la veille, mais l'équipage réussit miraculeusement à faire redémarrer le moteur. Le navire se sauve et son capitaine décide de faire route jusqu'à Pasajes pour réparer. Le safran a été endommagé lorsque le bateau a talonné et le RUBEN n’est plus vraiment sous contrôle. Le 4 décembre, le capitaine donne l’ordre de jeter l’ancre au large de la plage des Bourdaines à Seignosse, en attendant l’aide de remorqueurs.

Dans la soirée du 5 décembre, le RUBEN subit un nouveau coup de vent. Poussé par les courants, le navire chasse sur ses ancres et les vagues le jettent sur la plage de Seignosse le Penon. Nous sommes le 5 décembre 1976, il est 23 heures.

Le sauvetage est organisé depuis la plage toute la nuit et à 8 heures le lendemain matin, grâce à la marée basse, l’équipage est finalement évacué du navire.

Le RUBEN est en bon état et son propriétaire libanais décide d'essayer de la sauver. En janvier 1977, plusieurs tentatives de renflouement avec l'aide du remorqueur néerlandais BARRACUDA échouent et bientôt, le RUBEN est vendu aux enchères. En mars, M. Voisin, un entrepreneur français de Coex en Vendée, achète le navire et jure qu'il le sauvera de sa prison de sable.

Après de nombreux efforts et plusieurs tentatives, le RUBEN est finalement renfloué le 1er août 1977 et arrive à Bayonne, Bayonne d'où il était parti, 8 mois auparavant. Il va rester là pendant un an. La facture de l'opération de renflouage et des réparations nécessaires est trop élevé. M. Voisin, je ne peux pas payer. Il essaie de vendre son cargo sans succès. Le RUBEN est saisi par les autorités et bientôt vendu pour la ferraille. Il sera ferraillé à partir du mois de juillet 1978 à Zumaia, en Espagne
.

THE EPIC OF THE RUBEN.

Panamanian cargo ship RUBEN, launched as DELIA in 1951 by Weser shipyards in Bremen, has left Bayonne in the evening of November 29, 1976. She is en route northbound, towards Dunkirk. The vessel is off Lacanau, when the storm raises, late in the evening, on November 30th. During the night, the ship suffers an the engine breakdown and begins to drift.

January 1st, the Finnish master of the RUBEN, 72 years old, sends his first distress call. The German high sea tug PACIFIC is not far but she can't come to rescue the Panamanian cargo ship, because at the same time, she is trying to tow the greek tanker ship APOLLONIAN WAVE.
The nigh is horrible. Many times, the RUBEN is near to capsize.
The day after, the vessel is not far from Landes coast. The evacuation of the crew by the air is impossible because the ship is rolling too much and because her derricks make the salvage operation too much dangerous.

On december 3, the RUBEN touches the ground several times not far from the beach in Mimizan where the VIRGO and the APOLLONIAN WAVE grounded, the previous day, but the crew miracullously manages to start the engine again. The ship saves herself and her master decides to go head south up to Pasajes to repair. The rudder blade has been damaged when the vessel touched the ground and the RUBEN is not longer really under control. On December 4, the Master gives order to drop the anchor off the beach "des Bourdaines" in Seignosse, to wait for the assistance of tugs.

In the evening of December 5, the RUBEN suffers a new gale. Pushed by currents, the ship drags her anchors and the waves throw her on the beach in Seignosse le Penon. We are December 5, 1976, it is 11 p.m.

The rescue is organized from the beach all night long and at 8 a.m in the following morning, thanks to the low tide, the crew is finaly evacuated from the vessel.

The RUBEN is in a good condition, so her lebanese owner decides to try to save her. During January 1977, several attempts to refloat her with the Dutch tug BARRACUDA fail and soon, the RUBEN is auctioned. In March, Mr. Voisin, a French contractor from Coex, in the Vendee region buys the ship and swears he will save her from her prison of sand.

After many efforts and several attempts, the RUBEN is finally refloated on August 1st 1977 and she arrives in Bayonne in tow, Bayonne from where she had left, 8 months before. There she will stay one year long. The bill of the salvage operation and necessary repairs is too expensive. Mr Voisin, can't pay. He tries to sell her without success. The RUBEN is seized by authorities and soon sold for scrap. She will be broken up in July 1978 in Zumaia, Spain.

DELIA during the 50's - Photo from my personal collection RUBEN in Dunkirk, the port she was trying to reach when she suffered an engine breakdown.
The RUBEN stranded on the beach of Seignosse since two or three days - Photo Ronald Fitte The RUBEN stranded on the beach of Seignosse - Photo Michel Crusson
The RUBEN during the earthwork just before the first refloating attempts in January 1977 - Photos Gilbert Saint-Guirons
March 1977. In the local newspaper Sud-Ouest, a strange small add : "For sale, M/S RUBEN.... The ship is waiting for a new owner... Photo : Marie-Hélène Cingal
The French company "Etablissements Voisins" bought the RUBEN. After some heavy earthworks on the sand, with the help of a small dredger and two bulldozers, the first attemps to rotate the RUBEN are successful. But the tries to refloat the ship in July, fail. A tug would be necessary. (Photos from my personal collection).
August 1, 1977. At the end of the afternoon, the RUBEN is leaving the beach of Seignosse, towed by the Spanish tug PUNTA CRUCES. Photo Alexandre Voisin.
The RUBEN is back in Bayonne, docked at Blancpignon docks. The vessel accuses a starboard list. She will be inspected in the dry dock of the port to evaluate the repairs to do.
Nothing to do. Mr. Voisin tried to sell his vessel but didn't find any buyers. Repairs are too expensive. The RUBEN will stay in Bayonne one years. Photo from my personal collection.
July 28, 1978. The PUNTA CRUCES is back in Bayonne to tow the poor RUBEN. But this time, her destination is the Barinaga ship breaking yard in Zumaia, Spain.

Back to maritime accidents index page