CAPE BLANCO, Ore. – The U.S. Coast Guard says an engine-room fire has disabled a private commercial chemical tanker 700 miles off the Oregon coast and one crew member has died.
Petty Officer 2nd Class George Degener said Friday the fire has been extinguished, but the 485-foot Bahamian-flagged tanker sustained damage to its generators, leaving the vessel unable to move.
The spokesman says the tanker left Los Angeles on Aug. 9, bound for South Korea with a cargo of propylene tetramer, a petroleum additive. Degener says the ship's cargo areas are undamaged, and there are no reports of any pollution.
A Coast Guard cutter from California is on scene to assist the tanker's 21 remaining crew members. Degener says Coast Guard marine engineers from the cutter will see if they can get the vessel moving under its own power.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
