The fast action of SIU members and officers saved lives along with the integrated tug and barge (ITB) SMT Chemical Trader, more than 10 million gallons of gasoline and possibly a petroleum terminal during offloading of the “liquid gold” on May 22 in Tampa, Fla.Ninety percent of the mariners who were aboard the Intrepid Personnel & Provisioning ITB were asleep when, at 1:50 a.m., a minor onboard explosion occurred along with a fire. “I saw a small fire on deck and grabbed an extinguisher,” said Bosun Victor Cooper, who was one of the mariners on watch. “The fire was coming from a machinery space and I sounded the alarms.”
In a commendation letter to the crew from the ship’s Master Jeffrey Ritter, he noted that despite the incident occurring so early in the morning with most of the crew asleep, they responded quickly and had the fire out in 12 minutes. “In this time,” explained the captain, “the crew managed to muster, suit up, run out the hoses, commence bulkhead cooling, secure the ventilation and, upon the captain’s order, release the CO2.”
Ritter said everyone aboard “responded in a quick, effective and professional manner.”
A tug mate reportedly received second-degree burns from the heat in the machinery space but was quickly rescued by the crew that got him ashore for medical treatment. According to the bosun, he’s recovering well. The investigation into the cause of the incident is ongoing.
“The response of the crew was awesome,” said the bosun. “The training really paid off.”
Cooper was referring to the STWC and fire fighting training all of the unlicensed crew members have received at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education and the weekly on-board drills that take place aboard the Intrepid ITB.
“Our folks were excellent,” added Cooper. “Even the Coast Guard members on the scene praised us for averting what could have been a very serious incident.”
The other SIU members who were aboard the Chemical Trader on May 22 were ABs Philip Gallagher, Anthony Moore Jr., Brian Gauntt, Ronald Webb and Donald Clotter, QMED Troy Banks, GUDE Jose Encarnacion-Rivera, Engine Utility Florian Turcios, Steward/Baker Josue Iglesia and Chief Cook Manes Sainvil.
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