Italian Ferry Hits Oil Tanker, Killing 140 : Disasters: A second tanker explodes and catches fire off Genoa, killing a crewman. Seven are missing.

ROME —  Violent back-to-back disasters involving anchored oil tankers strewed death and pollution Thursday across Italy’s playground Tyrrhenian Sea.

About 140 passengers and crew members died in a burst of flame after a ferryboat slammed into the stern of a tanker in heavy fog around midnight Wednesday near the port of Leghorn, about 190 miles northwest of the Italian capital. One cabin attendant was the only survivor from the ferry Moby Prince. The 28 crewmen of the tanker Agip Abruzzo abandoned ship safely.

At midday Thursday, the 109,000-ton Cypriot tanker Haven exploded and caught fire after unloading crude oil off the port of Genoa, about 100 miles farther north. One crewman died, at least seven others were missing and 27 were rescued injured from a burning sea, merchant marine officials said.

Officials said the Haven, its back broken by the explosion, was sinking at anchorage four miles off the coast with 140,000 tons of crude oil aboard. Fearing a major oil spill, officials dispatched specially equipped anti-pollution vessels to the Haven to join navy ships and helicopters seeking survivors.

The two accidents were unconnected, and officials had no clue to what caused the explosion aboard the Haven, whose captain was Greek and crew mostly Filipino, port officials said.

Investigators, though, suspected negligence by the ferry’s crew for the collision off Leghorn, which occurred in a well-known anchorage area near the port despite the presence of three sophisticated radar systems aboard the ferry.

“From what we know so far, my impression is that human error is at the heart of this tragedy,” said Italy’s Merchant Marine Minister Carlo Vizzini, ordering an official inquiry.

Vizzini noted that the first sign of alarm came in an SOS from the anchored tanker, whose crew initially thought the collision had been caused by a fuel barge.

Alessio Bertrand, 24, a cabin attendant aboard the Moby Prince, was watching a televised European Cup playoff soccer match between Barcelona and Juventus of Turin with fellow crew members when the collision occurred.

“I heard a crash, and then there was smoke and fire everywhere. I heard screams from passengers and other crew members, but there was nothing I could do. My friends died beside me. It’s a miracle I’m alive,” he said from a hospital in Leghorn. He was the only survivor.

In the fog Wednesday night, the 98,545-ton Agip Abruzzo, which is owned by Italy’s state oil company, had anchored off the coast because vessels carrying dangerous cargoes are not allowed into the port area at night.

Commanded by a captain with 20 years’ service who had sailed the route since 1987 and was accompanied by his wife Wednesday, the Moby Prince left Leghorn for the port of Olbia on Sardinia’s Emerald Coast with a light load.

In season, the roll-on, roll-off ferry carried up to 1,490 passengers and 360 vehicles. For an off-season run Wednesday night, port officials said, there were 73 passengers and 67 crew members aboard, seven of them sales clerks at the ferry’s duty-free shop.

Officials said the force of the impact ruptured one of seven oil tanks aboard the Agip Abruzzo, simultaneously sparking a cloud of fire that instantly engulfed the ferry.

With fire on the Agip Abruzzo still burning aft but under control and the remaining six tanks intact Thursday night, officials said environmental damage seemed modest.

DISASTER AT SEA

MOBY PRINCE (Passenger ferry) Flag: Italian Built in: Britain Shipbuilder: Cammell Laird Year built: 1968 Tonnage: 6,187 Length: 430 ft. Source: Jane’s Merchant Ships, 1987-88