Crew Controls Fire Aboard U.S. Tanker
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Fumes in the hold of a giant U.S. oil tanker returning to Alaska caught fire off the Mexican coast Friday night, but the crew was able to extinguish the blaze and no injuries were reported, U.S. Coast Guard officials said.
Flames appeared in one of the 1,050-foot Stuyvesant’s 30 tanks about 8:40 p.m. 100 miles off Acapulco, Coast Guard Petty Officer Charles Embleton said in Long Beach.
Embleton said the ship’s captain telexed the Coast Guard for assistance but about 30 crew members were able to bring the flames under control themselves at 10 p.m. by spraying foam on the blaze. No injuries were reported.
“These fires happen more often than we’d like to think,” he said. “They only call us if it’s really big. Obviously, they were worried.”
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