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| Situation Update No. 1 Ref.no.: VIV-20100110-24507-USA
Situation Update No. 1
On 2010-01-11 at 10:53:17 [UTC]
Event: Vehicle Incident
Location: USA State of New York Gravesend Bay New York City Number of Evacuated: 18 person(s)
Situation: A ship taking on ethanol was apparently overfilled, causing the vessel's tank to rupture and the U.S. Coast Guard says it wants to know what went wrong and why. The ship Sichem Defiance is isolated in Gravesend Bay off Brooklyn in the Lower Harbor while the investigation and recovery efforts continue. The incident occurred at around 9 a.m. Sunday when the ship's tank burst as the vessel was being loaded with 55,000 barrels of ethanol, causing a 3-foot section of the main deck to collapse. The 446-foot tanker is owned by Eitsen Chemical of India, but wears a Marshall Islands flag. Police and fire boats, and U.S. Coast Guard vessels rushed to the area. A 1,000-yard safety zone remains in effect around the vessel, which encompasses the entire Gravesend Bay anchorage. Other ships were moved to different anchorages. "Our paramount concern is for the safety of the crew still onboard the vessel and they will not commence any nighttime operations," said Cmdr. David Flaherty, Coast Guard Sector New York's incident commander on Sunday. "The vessel is currently listing at about six degrees, and the vessel's crew will not attempt to correct the issue until there is enough light tomorrow. The Coast Guard is working with the company, the vessel master and the operator to develop salvage and repair plans, as well as confirm any internal damage to the ship." There were no reports of pollution or injuries resulting from the rupture. |  | | | |
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