South Korea – Oil Tanker Blaze Injures Ten

A fire which spread across two docked oil tankers in a South Korean port has injured ten people. The blaze started following an explosion onboard one tanker before it spread to a second oil tanker docked nearby in the port of Ulsan, in the south-east of the country, on September 28.

Coastguard and fire officials have since announced that the fire had been put out.

The fire began on the Cayman-Island flagged oil tanker, the Stolt Groenland, before spreading to a nearby South Korean tanker, the Bow Dalian. According to Reuters news agency, the ten people injured were workers at the terminal and consisted of nine South Koreans and one Indian. One of the South Korean workers is currently in a critical condition.

There were 25 sailors on board the Stolt Groenland at the time of the initial explosion and a crew of 21 on board the Bow Dalian. All sailors from both tankers were rescued. An official told Reuters that there was minimal impact on the port’s output or the surrounding environment following the blaze.

According to Russian news agency Tass, there were no repairs or loading operations being conducted on the Stolt Groenland at the time of the explosion. The Coastguard is currently investigating the cause of the fire.

Stolt Tankers, a subsidiary of Stolt-Nielsen and owner of the Stolt Gorenland , expressed concern following the incident and said in a statement: “The safety of all people on site and the protection of the environment is paramount to the company’s operations.”