SEARCH FOR BRITISH FERRY'S TOXIC CARGO CONTINUES
The search continued for a
cargo of poisonous chemical substances loaded on the Herald of
Free Enterprise Ferry which capsized in Zeebrugge harbour
Friday.
    A total of 72 drums of various toxic materials which were
loaded on trucks in the ship's hold have been recovered, but
Belgian authorities warned it was essential to recover a
further 61 containers of a cyanide-based solution.
    A net has been thrown over the gaping loading doors at the
front of the ship to prevent any more drums floating out.
    Salvage workers have moved cranes into place alongside the
wreck of the 7,951 ton roll-on, roll-off ferry which now lies
partly submerged on a sandbank outside the harbour.
    The ferry's owner is <European Ferries Plc>, majority owned
by Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co Plc <PORL.L>.
    The operation to right the vessel began yesterday after
divers abandoned their search for more bodies. Experts said it
could take months to refloat the ship and free the 80 bodies
estimated to be trapped amid debris.
    "The problem is that in these waters you can normally expect
one working day out of four," said Daan Kaakebeen of Dutch
Salvage experts Smit Tak International of Rotterdam. He
estimated the job itself would require 35 working days.
    Using reinforced cables, salvage experts intend to raise
the ship and set it down into a trench dug alongside.
    Salvage work could pinpoint the exact cause of the loss of
the ferry, one of three sister vessels plying cross-Channel
routes from England to continental Europe.
    Suspicion at present is focused on the ferry's main vehicle
loading doors, set close to water level.
    In London, Transport Secretary John Moore told parliament
yesterday that the ship keeled over after water gushed in
through the bow doors. He said a major government inquiry into
the disaster will be held, all similar ferries sailing from
Britain will be inspected and owners will be asked to fit
lights to give warning if bow doors are not properly closed.
    Experts carrying out tank and computer tests to determine
how the accident occurred will focus attention on the ship's
doors, its ballast system and crew procedures, he added.
    Two other investigations into the disaster have also begun,
one Belgian and one by the ferry's owners.
 REUTER
