Sunshine Skyway Bridge - The Original Sunshine Skyway Bridge - The Blackthorn Tragedy

The Blackthorn Tragedy

On January 28, 1980, the USCGC Blackthorn was outbound from Tampa Bay, having just completed a total refit, as the tanker Capricorn was inbound. Having just been overtaken by a brightly lit cruise ship, the Blackthorn had maneuvered into the center of the channel to allow the passenger ship to pass. As a consequence of the cruise ship's lights, the Blackthorn was unable to see the approaching Capricorn in the night's darkness. As the two ships approached, the Blackthorn gave two short whistles to signal its intention to pass to starboard as the Capricorn crowded the center of the channel. At some point, the Blackthorn, helmed by a junior officer, initiated evasive action but it was already too late. The two ships collided nearly head-on, with the anchor of the tanker imbedding itself in the hull plates of the cutter. At least 6 crewmen of the Blackthorn were trapped by the mangled metal skin of the ship. As the ships' momentum carried each other along, the anchor line of the tanker grew taut and pulled the Blackthorn over, capsizing the smaller ship and resulting in the drowning deaths of 23 crew trapped on board and below decks, approximately 3/4 of a mile from the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

Following the accident, the Blackthorn was recovered and taken to drydock for postmortem analysis. Because it had been involved in a fatal accident, it was decided not to repair the vessel. She was stripped of her gear and had her mast and superstructure reduced. The hull was then towed offshore and intentionally sunk as an artificial reef.