[4] On December 19, 1976, Grand Zenith departed Teesport, England with 8,000,000 US gallons (30,000,000 L) of fuel oil on board and 38 crewmembers.
[4] She was last heard from on December 30, when her captain sent a cable to her American agent, the J. F. Moran Company, saying that she had run into "heavy weather" about 36 miles (58 km) southeast of Cape Sable that had led her to reduce speed.
[6] On January 4, aircraft from the United States Navy and Air Force Reserve joined the search, which covered about 34,000 square miles (88,000 km2).
[5] On January 7, searchers found two life jackets from the ship, along with some debris and an oil slick about 140 miles (230 km) southeast of Cape Sable, leading the Coast Guard to confirm that Grand Zenith had sunk, most likely on December 30 or 31.
[1] On January 11, with heavy weather and no further signs of the ship or survivors, the Coast Guard abandoned the search and declared the entire crew lost.