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Miscellaneous See other Miscellaneous Articles Title: Oil tanker listing off Japan after huge explosion Tokyo (AFP) - A 998-tonne oil tanker was listing off the Japanese coast on Thursday after a large explosion and subsequent fire that sent towering columns of acrid smoke into the sky. The 64-year-old captain of the ship was still unaccounted for hours after the accident, while four of his crew were in hospital being treated for severe burns, according to coastguards. The tanker had unloaded its cargo of crude oil last week and was stationary close to the coast of Hyogo prefecture, around 450 kilometres (280 miles) west of Tokyo, when the explosion happened. Akihiro Komura, an official from Syoho Shipping, a Hiroshima-based shipping firm that owns the vessel, told AFP that seven of the eight Japanese crew were safe. "The ship unloaded crude oil at a port in Hyogo prefecture, and the tanker was virtually empty when the accident occurred," he told AFP by telephone. "I heard that a crew member was using a grinder to remove paint and that seems to have triggered the blast, which we believe could have occurred when the remnants of the oil caught fire. View gallery Black smoke rises from a 998-tonne oil tanker off the … Black smoke rises from a 998-tonne oil tanker off the coast of Hyogo prefecture, around 450 km west … "It is a Japanese ship and belongs to our company. All the crew members are Japanese nationals. We have confirmed seven out of the eight are alive and one, believed to be the captain, is still missing." News of the incident, which happened at around 9:30 am (0030 GMT), caused Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to interrupt debate in parliament. "In waters off Hyogo (prefecture), a tanker has exploded and is currently in flames," he told lawmakers. Television footage shot from helicopters showed thick columns of black smoke billowing from the stricken tanker as water jets doused it. Jagged shards of metal appeared to show where the tanker had exploded, with large sections peeled back as if they had been jimmied by a giant can opener. View gallery Map locating an explosion and fire on a tanker occurred … Map locating the area in Japan where an explosion and fire on a tanker occurred on Thursday. (AFP Ph … Coastguard officials said they had raced to the scene after hearing that the Shoko-Maru had exploded. They said four of the seven rescued crew members had been rushed to hospital for injuries, while the other three did not require immediate medical care. In mid-afternoon, emergency crews were continuing to hose down the tanker in an effort to cool it, a coastguard spokesman said. "The interior of the ship is likely to be extremely hot. Even if you cannot see flames, it's possible that the fire might break out again," he said. "We are searching (for the captain) in waters around the ship," he said. Television footage showed the approximately 80-metre (260-foot) ship listing heavily as at least two jets doused the badly-charred centre of the vessel. Himeji port is one of a number that sit along the Inland Seto Sea coast, where there are numerous pockets of heavy industry. The city itself is a popular tourist destination, and is home to one of Japan's finest feudal castles. Poster Comment: Chris As a person who has actually worked on a tanker there is a definite chance a grinder spitting out sparks could have caused this explosion. If the crew hadn't maintained the proper ratio of inert gas in the empty tanks, the explosive limit could have been reached very quickly. "Hot work" should have never been attempted without a certified marine chemist clearing the work area first. Another terrible tragedy that could have been avoided had some common sense, industry standard safety practices were followed. +110-4 [Robert] An empty crude carrier is probably the most dangerous explosive device there is and especially if it doesn't have an IGS system Inert Gas System. The way the IGS system works is, it takes exhause gas from the main engine and/or auxiliary boilers and scrubs it to remove the sulfer componds and then takes the Carbon Monoxide and Carbon Dioxide and pumps it back into the cargo tank to form a blanket of a gas that will not permit combustion. I will be willing to lay odds, this tanker didn't have a IGS system or it was defective. I was lucky in 1984 when a tanker I was on suffered an explosion outbound from San Francisco (See San Francisco Chronical Oct 31, Nov 1, 2, 3 1984 for more details out the SS. Puerto Rican with the Keystone Shipping Company of Philadelphia) As a result there were two deaths, and two very seriously injured people as well as about 8 or 10 with caustic soda burns. +64-4 Gary I cant wait for the fireworks display from a LNG tanker exploding and the conflagration of square miles. Energy released on West Canada coastline from a 1,000 feet long LNG ship at the new city sized compressor/refinery port should be felt in Cleveland Ohio as well as cause a new tsunami in Japan. I hope it happens on 4th of July!! Yee Haw, EH?? Did I mention the port is built by Malaysia/Muslims engineers/labor!!! The millions killed from that LNG tanker/refinery explosion will make Hiroshima Nuke look like a hand grenade in comparison. Anyone out there old enough to remember Texas "Oil City" fertilizer ship explosion that decimated the whole city into vapor/ash in a few seconds?? Can someone please give us a web link to that catastrophe??+3-3 george When it is empty, it is very dangerous.There is several rules how you can make it safer but it is never "guaranty" safe. Thanks God it was very small tanker.Not even 1000 tones.I newer sow that small tanker before.They usually go from 200.000 to 500.000 tones. +5 Spartan The Japanese used to be known for excellence... but all the experienced people have retired and now they're left with a bunch of young untrained workers. The number of factory fires and explosions over the last 5 years has been on the increase. Daverson Metallurgy 101... Never grind or weld on an empty barrel or container (or ship) that contained flammable liquid, especially one thats enclosed... they're a time bomb ticking. Heat combined with building gas pressures will combust and explode even without a spark... like a diesel engine only with shrapnel. Scary! +1 DanS Damn cigarette smokers.+1-2 Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
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