The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1921-02-03
OIL TANK EXPLOSION
SAVES BURNING ship
FLAMES SNUFFED OUT WHEN
FUEL CONTAINERS BURST.
Vessel on Fire "a Hours
Several Members of Grew Badly
Burned While Fighting Des-
perately Against Odds.

Jacksonville, Fla, Jan. 30.-The
Italian setamer Nettuno, Capt. G.
Bersini, en- route from Port Arthur,
Texas, to Brinisdi, was towed into
this port today by the coast guard
cutter Yamacraw after being aire at
sea.
Captain Bersini attributes the SAL
vation of his ship to a miracle-the
explosion of her fuel oil tanks, which
literally snuffed out the fire after it
had ragged unchecked for. "a hours.
The blaze originated in the engine
room from bursting feed pipe when
the Nettuno was four days out from
Port Arthur from which she cleared
on January 21 with a cargo of gaso-
line and fuel oil. At that time she
was off the Florida coast in the VIC
unity of Bermuda.
In a few moments the Nettuno was
a seething inferno amidships and
CAPTAIN Bersini stated that it did
not seem possible for her to remain
afloat but a short time.
Seated in his badly damaged cabin
this afternoon while the Nettuno
swung easily at anchor in the river,
CAPTAIN Bersini painted. a vivid pic
ture of the horror through which he
and the ships personnel lived dur
ing the "a hours the fire ragged un-
checked in the ship wallowing help
lessly in heavy seas.
Fight Courageously.
It was also a story of courage and
devotion of duty such as men are
seldom called upon to perform. The
crew fought with desperation to keep
the fires from the gasoline stored in
the hold of the vessel. The fight,
however, appeared hopeless, accord
ing to Captain Bersini, and momen-
tarily he expected the flames to reach
the gasoline and blow the ship to
atoms.
Practically every lifeboat aboard
the Nettuno had either been carried
away or smashed by the terrible buf-
feting the tanker sustained during
the hours the fire twisted and
wrecked her engine room and warped
and cracked her steel decks and side
plates. The fact that the crew had
no lifeboats in which to leave the
burning vessel added to the horror
OF the situation.
Captain Bersini spoke in the high
est terms of the behavior Of his off,
GERS and crew, speaking freely of the
heroic work of the two chief engi-
neers, Betteno and Cross, as well as
of the heroism of Engineer Jandi
Joanna, who volunteered to GO below
at the time the feed pipe burst to
shut off the flow of oil and rescue
the fremen trapped in the fire room.
Joanna was so severely burned
that Captain Bersini stated he did
not think the engineer could survive.
His clothing was burned from his
body and his flesh in many places
literally cooked. Joanna and the two
fremen, Brancalaone and Losito,
transferred to the Belgian steamer
Kremlin on January 26, the day after
the fire aboard the Nettuno had been
extinguished and sent to Newport
News.
The Yamacraw, which had been ad-
vised to look out for the Nettuno,
picked up the ship on January 2S and
headed for Jacksonville. The Net
tuno is owned by the Italian state
railways, her home port being Pal
mera, Italy.
The ship is so badly damaged that
it is estimated that it will be weeks
before she is again ready for sea.
A representative OF the owners IS
expected here tomorrow from New
York.
The Nettuno is a 5000 ton ship,
400 feet in length with breadth of
go feet.
Captain Bersini stated he had had
four years of war, had two ships
torpedoed under him by submarines,
was badly wounded in one of the eX-
plosions, but these experiences were
nothing compared to the horror
through which he had just emerged.
For four days the crew of the Net
tuno was without food or sleep.