Burning Tanker under Close Watch in South China Sea

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, November 25, 2002

Burning Tanker under Close Watch in South China Sea

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Chinese authorities have stopped efforts to control the fire aboard a Panama-registered tanker carrying 20,000 tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) that caught fire off the coast of Shenzhen City on Sunday afternoon.

A close watch is being kept on the vessel, which is still engulfed in fire and smoke, though sources with Shenzhen's fire department said even if the GAZ Poem explodes, it will cause no major threat to targets on the coast.

The vessel, believed to have been on its way to the Hua'an LNG wharf in Shenzhen, is currently located well south of the coast and all rescue vessels have withdrawn to safer places to monitor the situation.

Shenzhen authorities have taken proper measures to ensure the safety of passing vessels and the sea route.

All 34 crew on board the GAZ Poem were rescued shortly after the Hong Kong Maritime Rescue-Co-ordination Center received a report late Sunday night from the vessel that the engine room was on fire, according to earlier reports.

You Ningfeng, deputy governor of Guangdong Province, and officials from the Chinese Ministry of Communications arrived in Shenzhen Sunday night to coordinate the rescue work.

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