Tank Bursts on Sichem
Defiance Tanker Ship in
Brooklyn's Gravesend Bay
NY Daily News 1/10/10
|
A 400 foot
cargo ship
carrying
ethanol,
benzene and
fuel oil,
had a
pressure
explosion in
a cargo hold
this morning
in Gravesend
Bay near the
Verrazano
Bridge,
setting off
a massive
rescue
response as
the crew of
18 worked to
contain the
damage and
keep the
ship from
listing
anymore than
it was after
the
accident. A
fireboat
goes out to
the
distressed
ship. |
A tank burst on a ship
carrying thousands of
gallons of ethanol in
Brooklyn's Gravesend Bay
Sunday morning,
officials said.
The Coast Guard
evacuated the bay after
an overpressurized tank
ruptured and part of the
deck collapsed on the
Sichem Defiance, a
443-foot tanker.
None of the 18 people on
board were injured, and
no ethanol spilled into
the water.
The tanker, owned by
Indian company Eitsen
Chemical, was offloading
55,000 gallons of
ethanol when the tank
burst around 9 a.m.
The Coast Guard also
cleared out a 1,000-yard
area around the ship as
a "precautionary
measure," Lt. Eric
Hanson, Coast Guard
Sector New York's
command duty officer,
said.
A crowd of onlookers
gawked at the ship
listing offshore. "I'm
just stunned," said
Robert Ramos, 41, of
Coney Island. "It just
kept listing over and
over. We thought it was
going down."
