The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1911-12-27
DEADLY OIL TANKS
Ships That Are a Constant Men,
ace to All on Board.
DEATH Turks IN THE CARGO.

Destroying the Vessel There 10 Also
the Peril Of "Fumins."
The most dangerous sort of ship
a6oat is that particular kind of vessel
known as the oil tank. and there isn't
a sailorman who will sign on for a
voyage in one IL he can get job on
board any other class of vessel.
The oil tank Is vessel whose cargo
consists of oil, which is carried In
great tanks. Two dangers are ever
present to all on board-namely, that
the oil may heat and explode, which
| means the instant destruction of the
ship. or that IL may burst from the
tanks, in which case the ship is almost
certain to be destroyed by fire.
There is also the remote danger of
the oil Tuning" When the oil
fumes" the working of the ship be-
comes almost impossible. On FUN.
| lug" oil tank no one can remain below
deck for more than ten minutes with
out becoming overcome by the oil
fumes. which are hundred times
more deadly to human life than coal
gas.
The most terrible tragedies of the
ocean have occurred on board these
death traps.
a few years ago Russian oil tank,
the Omar. which sailed from Batum
bound for bombay with 10000 gallons
of oil on board. was sighted in the Pa
ciiic by German tramp steamer nam
ed the Velter Fend The Omar was
flying signals of distress and when
sighted was apparently completely dis
abled. for she was making no head
way
The sea was quite calm. and the cap
tain of the Veter Fend approached
within hailing distance of the disabled
ship. but no reply came from her in
response TO his hail.
Then the captain of the German
tramp sent boat to the silent ship.
When the boats crew reached her
decks they saw five men lying on the
deck. three of whom were dead. The
other two were i'm state of collapse.
but alive.
The mate Of the German tram who
was in charge Of the boat, at once
guessed that the oil had "fumed" on
board the oil tank. probably at night.
and that the two men in a state of
collapse were probably the only sur
vivors of the disaster. This subse-
quently turned out to be the case.
Below the decks. which the crew of
the German tramp penetrated with
great difficulty and danger to them.
selves. for the oil was still Tuning. six
of the oil tanks crew were found
dead I'm their hunks. where they had
been suffocated by the fumes in their
sleep. Three of the crew had succeed
ed in reaching the deck. but had died
subsequently.
The two survivors were the only two
on deck when the fumes burst from
the tanks and in their efforts to save
the others had very nearly persisted
themselves.
The crew of Norwegian oil tank
named the Helios had a terrible expe-
rience II few years ago in mid-Atlan
tic. During n heavy gale, in which
the Helios suffered very rough han
ding in the mountainous seas. her oil
tanks. containing 10000 gallons of
crude oil. burst and flowed into the
bunkers. threatening to penetrate in a
few minutes into the ireroom.
The crew flung themselves at the
pumps like madmen. The oil soon be-
gan TO fume. and no man could keep
at the pumps for more than few
minutes without becoming overpower-
ed The captain of the Helios order
ed all the crew on deck. and four in
their turn went below every i've min
utes to work at the pumps.
The fight they made for their lives
was one of the most desperate that
has ever been waged on the ocean.
Directly the tank had burst the fire.
men had been ordered out of the fire
room. There was no time TO quench
the fires. for the firemen would Ger
tainly have been sutfocated by the
fumes of the oil had they remained
below TO do so.
For eleven hours the officers and
crew of the Helios worked like de-
mons at the pumps, making the most
desperate efforts to keep the oil from
reaching the fire room. By the end of
that time eight of the crew lay uncon-
scious on the deck. overcome partly by
exhaustion and partly by the fumes.
1t was now only possible to work two
of the pumps. and 1t became certain
that. unless help arrived ia another
hour. the ship. with every living soul
on board. would perish. II should be
mentioned that every lifeboat on the
Helios had been damaged during the
storm.
Half an hour passed. and by then
only the captain and the mate were
working at the pumps. The destruc-
ton OF the vessel was now only Il mat
ter OF minutes. II was at this critical
juncture that the oil tank was sighted
by the Ma Jestic OF the White Star line,
aud twenty minutes later the crew Of
the doomed ship were safely on board
the liner
As the last man scrambled on board
10 ha xphtoh haA