PRINT THIS PAGE | E-MAIL THIS PAGE

Saturday, June 28, 1997

Two bodies found in chemical tank aboard Formosa Plastics tanker

POINT COMFORT, Texas (AP) - Two dead crewmen were found floating in a hazardous chemical container filled with ethylene dichloride Friday morning aboard a docked Formosa Plastics Marine Corp. tanker.

The discovery was made at about 6:20 a.m. while the toxic chemical from the Formosa Plastics Corp. plant in Point Comfort was being loaded via pipeline aboard the "Formosa Two" tanker, said Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Tricia Lacombe.

"While loading, they found two people in the tank," Ms. Lacombe said.

Names of the deceased were not immediately released.

The Coast Guard was investigating the incident which occurred as the Formosa Two was docked at the Calhoun County Navigation District's docks in Lavaca Bay.

Formosa officials refused to comment on the deaths and forwarded questions to the Coast Guard and to a spokesman for the ship's owner.

It is not clear how the two men - the Formosa Two's chief mate and a seaman - got into the cargo tank, one of several housed inside the vessel which can carry 30,000 metric tons.

"We're still trying to figure this one out," said Petty Officer 1st Class Scott Clingenpeel.

Clingenpeel said there is no need to go inside the container to fill it with the chemical. All loading and unloading is done by pipelines and hoses stationed on land that are fastened directly to the ship's tank.

A third crewmember, apparently overcome by fumes, was taken to Port Lavaca's Memorial Medical Center where he was reported in stable condition, said Fred Dotts, spokesman for the ship's owner.

The 580-foot vessel - one of eight tankers owned by the Formosa Plastics Group via its marine shipping operation - was bound for Kaohsiung, Taiwan at the time of the incident, Dotts said.

Ethylene dichloride, used in manufacturing plastics, is a highly flammable product that can decompose into a poisonous gas when in contact with a hot surface.

Formosa Plastics Corp. is a Taiwan-based conglomerate that employs 1,200 workers in the Point Comfort area, about 150 miles southwest of Houston.

Dotts said that the ship company and the conglomerate are affiliated with each other but could not provide details on how the ship owner fit in Formosa Plastics' corporate chain.

According to Formosa Plastics' literature, Formosa Two is one of eight company-owned tankers that transport tons of chemicals and chemical feedstock around the world.

The tankers make up about 20 percent of Calhoun County ship traffic, according to Bob Van Borssum, director of the Port of Port Lavaca.

None of the chemical was spilled. Shipping traffic in and out of the bay, which feeds into the Gulf of Mexico, was not affected, Van Borssum said. Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
Send the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend: