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Burning tanker not to add to water pollution
Hong Kong, Nov 25: A tanker with 20,000 tonnes of inflammable gas, burning in Chinese waters off Hong Kong, threatens to go up in a huge fireball, although winds have so far kept the flames away from the cargo hold.
Hong Kong, Nov 25: A tanker with 20,000 tonnes of inflammable gas, burning in Chinese waters off Hong Kong, threatens to go up in a huge fireball, although winds have so far kept the flames away from the cargo hold.
Flames on Monday (November 25) spread on the Panamanian-registered Gaz Poem anchored about 38 km (24 miles) east of Hong Kong, preventing fire-fighters from dousing the blaze.
The 34-member crew abandoned ship on Sunday after the fire broke out in the engine room.
A Hong Kong government official said the fire appeared to be burning itself out in the engine room but said flames had spread to the bridge area. Other officials said some small explosions rocked the tanker on Monday.
The official said the wind was still blowing toward the stern of the tanker and away from the cargo hold, which was near the bow, reducing the risk of a major explosion.
Chinese maritime officials have barred passing ships from a radius of 10 nautical miles of the Gaz Poem.
Its cargo of liquefied petroleum gas is highly flammable and is most often used for cooking and heating.
If it explodes, it would burn off in the atmosphere, leaving a huge cloud of smoke but no water pollution, another Hong Kong official said.
Weather forecasters said prevailing winds would be blowing away from land for the rest of the week.
Chinese officials said they were not sure if a huge blast would also rupture the ship`s fuel tanks, which could cause an oil spill. It was not known how much fuel oil the ship carried.
The incident comes less than a week after a tanker carrying 77,000 tones of fuel oil broke in half and sank off the northern coast of Spain, spewing thousands of tonnes of oil that has blackened hundreds of miles of Spanish coastline.
Chinese maritime officials have barred passing ships from a radius of 10 nautical miles of the Gaz Poem.
Its cargo of liquefied petroleum gas is highly flammable and is most often used for cooking and heating.
If it explodes, it would burn off in the atmosphere, leaving a huge cloud of smoke but no water pollution, another Hong Kong official said.
Weather forecasters said prevailing winds would be blowing away from land for the rest of the week.
Chinese officials said they were not sure if a huge blast would also rupture the ship`s fuel tanks, which could cause an oil spill. It was not known how much fuel oil the ship carried.
The incident comes less than a week after a tanker carrying 77,000 tones of fuel oil broke in half and sank off the northern coast of Spain, spewing thousands of tonnes of oil that has blackened hundreds of miles of Spanish coastline.
Bureau Report