DATE: Sunday, September 28, 1997            TAG: 9709280047

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:   27 lines

FISHING BOAT, FREIGHTER COLLIDE OFF CAPE LOOKOUT

A Panamanian freighter collided with a fishing boat Saturday morning about 35 miles southeast of Cape Lookout, the Coast Guard reported.

No one was injured in the collision, which occurred about 10:40 a.m., according to Petty Officer Blair Thomas.

The bow of the Strawberry was damaged after the 40-foot fishing vessel from Morehead City collided with the Century Highway No. 1, a 549-foot ship.

The smaller craft started taking on water, but the four-man crew sealed the boat's forward compartment and kept the vessel from sinking before help arrived.

A Coast Guard cutter and helicopter escorted the crippled boat back to Morehead City, Thomas said.

The Century Highway No. 1 suffered no damage and continued its trip to Baltimore, Md., Thomas said.

The collision was still under investigation, Thomas said. Weather conditions had been calm, and the collision's cause was still unknown, he said. KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT BOAT

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu