THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 31, 1996 TAG: 9605310534
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: 27 lines
A Norfolk-based oiler ship in the Mediterranean Sea was damaged Thursday when gases ignited in the exhaust stack of a boiler, the Navy said.
No one was injured and the Merrimack was fully intact, said Cmdr. Stephen Pietropaoli, a Navy spokesman at the Pentagon. He said the ship's three other diesel fuel boilers were shut down while the damage was assessed. It was expected to get under way again and return to port, he said.
Damage apparently was limited to the stack, he said.
A Navy official in Norfolk said the ship was proceeding to Naples, Italy, to undergo complete boiler inspection and assistance by the tender Simon Lake.
Pietropaoli said combustible materials in the stack of the boiler had ignited while the ship's crew was performing drills to practice responding to engineering casualties. The accident could have been related to the drills, which apparently involved some manipulation of the ship's power system, Pietropaoli said.
The Merrimack, which is part of the George Washington battle group, was in the Mediterranean south of France at the time. It has a crew of about 330.
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT MILITARY U.S. NAVY FIRES by CNB