Posted on: Tuesday, May 7, 2002

Search for crewman's body pending cleanup of Insiko

Advertiser Staff

An environmental contractor for the U.S. Coast Guard continued to pump oily water out of the damaged refueling tanker Insiko 1907 yesterday. The work began Friday but paused during the weekend.

No one has yet been able to search for the body of an Insiko crewman who died when the tanker caught fire at sea March 13, said Coast Guard spokeswoman Lt. DesaRae Atnip. It could be as long as two weeks before the oily water is removed and the search for the crewman can begin, Atnip said.

Gi Hui Nian of the People's Republic of China is believed to have burned to death March 13, when the tanker burst into flames. The crew reported he was last seen in the engine room, the fire's focal point.

Atnip said anyone searching the damaged ship for the crewman will have to proceed with caution.

"Walking is perilous," she said. "Everywhere where the fire was, the structure is very weak."

Divers yesterday checked the bottom of the Insiko hull, she said.

"We sent divers down to check out the structural integrity of the ship," Atnip said. "They found one leak at the rudder post which they patched with putty."

Divers also found three other areas that they planned to repair.