
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 13, 1990                   TAG: 9006130535
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A/4   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: GALVESTON, TEXAS                                LENGTH: Medium

FIRE CONTROLLED, BUT OIL SPILLING FROM TANKER

Oil spilled freely into the Gulf of Mexico without being consumed by flames today after firefighters controlled the engine-room blaze that turned the supertanker Mega Borg into a smoky, listing hulk.

Salvage boats and Coast Guard ships skimmed the water and used floating barriers to try to corral a slick estimated early today at 15 miles long and 600 yards wide, up from 13 miles long on Tuesday, the Coast Guard said.

On Tuesday, firefighters spraying water on the searing deck boarded the ship and declared the fire controlled nearly four days after the first of a series of explosions ripped through the vessel 57 miles southeast of Galveston.

The blasts and fire left the 886-foot ship with one deck awash, and crews had feared it would break up or sink with its cargo of 38 million gallons of crude.

In gaining the upper hand on the blaze, firefighters solved one problem but may have created another.

"What appears to be happening, that since they are getting the fire under control, is it's not burning up as much oil and more oil is getting in the water," Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Robert Garrott said.

However, officials had not determined how much was leaking or whether skimming was keeping pace with the spill, he said.

At least 100,000 gallons of oil spilled since an explosion Saturday crippled the tanker, Coast Guard officials said. Most of that burned or evaporated, Garrott said.

The Norwegian government scheduled a hearing today in Galveston to interview crew members who were aboard when the tanker exploded while transferring cargo to a smaller vessel. Two of the 41 crewmen died, two were missing and presumed dead and 17 were injured, none seriously.

Five fireboats and a hose placed on the deck by firefighters continued dousing the burning stern.

Thick gray smoke and steam surrounded the hulk, replacing the balls of flame and towering columns of black smoke that had risen from the vessel.

Once the fire is extinguished, firefighters will apply foam to prevent re-ignition, Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Todd Nelson said. An 825-foot British-registered tanker stood by to begin receiving the remainder of the Mega Borg's cargo.

by CNB