Tanker sank, captain still missing
While emergency crews had extinguished the open fire aboard the "Shoko Maru" on May 29, 2014, at 3 p.m. LT (2 a.m. GMT), four hours after the blast and ensuing fire gutted a large hole in the hull, the wreck sank bow first in the late afternoon and was submerged at 6.59 p.m. (09.59 a.m. GMT).
Captain Masaichi Ando, 64, still had not been found, the search was continued. Four of his crew suffered severe burns, two of whom were unconscious. The boatswain, aged 61, had suffered burns covering his entire body.
The "Shoko Maru" had been anchored three miles off Himeji in the Hyogo Prefecture.
It had unloaded its fuel oil on May 23 and was at anchor since May 27. While the cause of the explosion which occurreds at 9.20 a.m. LT was not known, it was reported that crew members had been using a grinder to remove rust near its fuel tank before the vessel exploded.
Sparks of the polishing machine was may have ignited vaporized fuel oil. Three rescue ships of the Japanese Coastguard have been involved in extinguishing the fire. After the sinking a small quantity of oil was floating on the sea, but the exact volume was not known. The Coastguard set up an exclusion zone of 1,8 kilometers, but there was no major danger facing other ships in and around the port.
While emergency crews had extinguished the open fire aboard the "Shoko Maru" on May 29, 2014, at 3 p.m. LT (2 a.m. GMT), four hours after the blast and ensuing fire gutted a large hole in the hull, the wreck sank bow first in the late afternoon and was submerged at 6.59 p.m. (09.59 a.m. GMT).
Captain Masaichi Ando, 64, still had not been found, the search was continued. Four of his crew suffered severe burns, two of whom were unconscious. The boatswain, aged 61, had suffered burns covering his entire body.
The "Shoko Maru" had been anchored three miles off Himeji in the Hyogo Prefecture.
It had unloaded its fuel oil on May 23 and was at anchor since May 27. While the cause of the explosion which occurreds at 9.20 a.m. LT was not known, it was reported that crew members had been using a grinder to remove rust near its fuel tank before the vessel exploded.
Sparks of the polishing machine was may have ignited vaporized fuel oil. Three rescue ships of the Japanese Coastguard have been involved in extinguishing the fire. After the sinking a small quantity of oil was floating on the sea, but the exact volume was not known. The Coastguard set up an exclusion zone of 1,8 kilometers, but there was no major danger facing other ships in and around the port.