WWF warns of pollution after fuel tanker fire in Sardinia

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2004

ROME (AFP) — A fuel tanker that suffered an on-board explosion off the Mediterranean island of Sardinia earlier this week could cause an environmental disaster if it sank, environmental pressure group WWF said.

"The consequences for the marine environment would be incalculable if the ship sank with 300 tonnes of benzene on board," the group said in a statement.

The explosion, which blew a huge hole in the ship's hull, occurred on Thursday afternoon when the ship had almost finished unloading its cargo of benzene -- a volatile liquid hydrocarbon -- in the port of Porto Torres.

Two crew members were killed in the incident, one of them Ukrainian, the other Latvian. The rest of the 15-man crew of the Panama Serena, which was flying a Nassau flag, managed to...