BEACHED LPG TANKER UPDATE

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 002477 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ENRG EAID EPET SENV SUBJECT: BEACHED LPG TANKER UPDATE REF: SANTO DOMINGO 2466 Summary: The liquid propane gas (LPG) tanker that ran aground on October 29 remains in stable condition. There has been no additional damage to the ship's hull and the fuel remains in stable liquid form. The ship's generators are operating normally and back-up generators are on stand-by in case of emergency to maintain the fuel cooling systems and prevent its conversion to gas. A salvage plan has been organized and will likely be implemented tomorrow afternoon (Nov. 1). End Summary. With a calming of sea swells and the introduction of assistance from a local tugboat to provide stability, there appears to have been no additional damage to the LPG tanker that has been beached off the coast of San Pedro de Macoris (SPM) since early Monday morning. A structural assessment of the ship, conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard and a U.S. salvage company, has found it to be in solid enough shape to attempt a salvage operation as early as tomorrow afternoon, November 1st. Since the damage has so far be isolated to three ballast tanks, the current plan, according to the ship's insurance agent, is to pump water out of the port side ballast tanks and then use as many as four tugboats to pull the ship back out to sea. The calculations for this manuever are still being finalized, but "confidence is high", according to the insurer. The primary concern remains the ability of the ship to maintain its cargo in liquid form. As described in reftel, the fuel can only remain in liquid form without refrigeration for up to two days, after which it would be necessary to perform a controlled release of the gas or risk an explosion. At this time, the ships primary generators appear to be working properly. In addition, the ship's back-up generator is standing-by to provide up to 18 hours of additional power and an additional large scale back-up generator is en route to the site in case of emergency and should arrive by tomorrow morning. A press conference was held with the local polutation yesterday evening at 1700 hours led by the regional governor and included representatives from the shipping company, the environment ministry, the U.S. Coast Guard and Dominican military and police. A warden message was issued by the Consular Section yesterday evening encouraging American citizens residing in or traveling through SPM to monitor the situation through local media. With the situation stable, no additional warden messages are planned at this time. BULLEN