Chemical tanker explodes off Virginia’s coast

Chemical tanker explodes off Virginia’s coast    A 39,821 deadweight-ton chemical tanker operated by Norwegian shipowner Odfjell exploded Saturday and sank about 50 miles off the coast of Virginia.
   Of the 27 seafarers working on the Singapore-flag “Bow Mariner,” only nine were found by the U.S. Coast Guard Sunday.
   “Eighteen are still missing and search and rescue operations are ongoing,” Odfjell said in a statement Sunday. The crew comprised 24 Filipinos and three Greeks. Three of the nine crewmembers picked up by the Coast Guard are dead.
   CNN quoted a U.S. Coast Guard official as saying the possibility of finding anyone alive after Sunday was “remote.”
   Odfjell said the cause of the explosion is not established.
   The ship’s flag state authority, Singapore, has asked the U.S. Coast Guard to carry out investigation on their behalf.
   The ship was en route from New York to Texas City, with about 11,000 tons of Ethanol. Odfjell said Sunday night that no decision has been made about the start of clean-up operations.
   The “Bow Mariner” is managed by Ceres Hellenic Shipping Enterprises in Greece.