shipwreck

A desperate salvage effort was launched last night to contain a big
oil slick leaking from a French supertanker crippled by a mystery
blast near the Arabian coast.

Authorities in Yemen were directing firefighters, pollution experts
and tugs to prevent the stricken Limburg and its cargo of 400,000
barrels of crude oil from drifting closer to the port city of
Al-Mukallah.

The giant ship was still ablaze after an explosion ripped a gaping
hole in its hull and sparked fears that al Qaeda terrorists had
targeted the oil industry.

Crude oil prices jumped 1 per cent after the blast as the industry
braced itself for possible supply disruptions from the Middle East.

All but one of the 25 crew members were accounted for after the
explosion.

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