Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 13, 1990 TAG: 9006130252
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: GALVESTON, TEXAS LENGTH: Short
Oil continued leaking from the ship, the Coast Guard said.
A thick cloud of gray smoke surrounded the superstructure of the 886-foot Mega Borg, replacing the balls of flame and towering columns of black smoke that had been billowing from the Norwegian vessel since an engine-room explosion Saturday.
Coast Guard Capt. Tom Greene said that Ted Hoskins, who heads the salvage operation, boarded the ship with a crew. Hoskins "said he would characterize the fire as under control," Greene said.
Greene said he could see no fires in the latest videos taken on the ship, but added a fire was still burning below deck.
The fire has been "pinned down" in the engine room and the pumping room, spokesman Daan Kaakebeen of Smit Internationale, the Dutch salvage company leading the firefighting effort, said earlier in Rotterdam.
The Coast Guard also revised its estimate of the amount of oil on the water to less than 2,000 gallons, a fraction of the 100,000 gallons officials estimated earlier. The amount that had spilled from the tanker, which was carrying 38 million gallons of light African crude, was not determined.
Much of the oil that spilled had burned off, but with the fire now confined, "there is more oil in the water and the slick is continuing to grow," Greene said.
Still, Coast Guard officials said they believe a disastrous spill can be avoided because the light crude can be easily dispersed.
Meanwhile, Mexico sent a collector vessel to help clean up the spill.
by CNB