2 Die as Explosions Rock Oil Tanker Off Texas : Pollution: The huge ship carries 38 million gallons of light petroleum. Officials are optimistic a disastrous spill will be averted despite a fire.

Explosions and fire rocked a Norwegian oil tanker in the Gulf of Mexico early Saturday, killing at least two crewmen, but authorities said it was unlikely the ship would foul Texas beaches with a massive oil spill.

Two crewmen were confirmed dead in the explosion, and authorities said two others were missing and presumed dead. Of the crew of 41, 17 others were injured, none seriously, officials said.

The Coast Guard said the 853-foot supertanker Mega Borg was hauling 38 million gallons of light crude oil when the blast occurred 57 miles southeast of Galveston.

The fire raged out of control late Saturday as two fire boats sprayed jets of water on the flames. Two Coast Guard cutters were standing by.

Flames shot hundreds of feet high from the ship’s air vents as thick, black smoke--which could be seen from 40 miles away--curled from the ship’s aft section.

The first explosion occurred in the engine room while the 15-year-old tanker was transferring part of its shipment to the Italian tanker Framura.

The Mega Borg had transferred 70,000 barrels of its 980,000 barrels of crude oil when the blast occurred, Coast Guard Capt. Tom Greene said at a news conference in Galveston. (Each barrel is the equivalent of 42 gallons.)

“We don’t know what caused the spark or the fire or whatever, but there were explosions and while our helicopters were on the scene they witnessed another explosion--so it’s a pretty hot fire,” Petty Officer George Wilson said in Houston.

Two more explosions occurred later in the day, Petty Officer Rich Muller said.

Greene said about 7,000 gallons of crude oil or ship fuel had spread onto the water, creating an oil sheen about 11 miles long and a quarter of a mile wide.

“If all goes well, I really don’t expect much more pollution than is out there,” Greene said.

“We don’t expect any of the oil to reach the Texas coast,” said Ens. Larry Meredith of the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Office in Galveston. “It will mix with natural ocean water and--if nature takes its course--evaporate.”

Greene said the biggest fear was that the fire, which apparently was being fed by engine oil or lubricating oil, might spread to three cargo tanks near the engine room. The three tanks hold 360,000 barrels, or about 15 million gallons of the light crude. The Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska in 1989 involved a spill of about 11 million gallons.

Following the blast, the Mega Borg’s captain and first mate escaped and were taken aboard the Coast Guard cutter Cushing. The other surviving crew members were taken to Freeport aboard a commercial vessel.

The 17 injured crew members were taken to Brazosport Memorial Hospital in Lake Jackson, where two were hospitalized. The other 15 were treated for smoke inhalation and released, said nursing supervisor Linda Runnels.

The hospitalized crew members were in stable condition; one underwent surgery for an injured tendon in his left arm and the other suffered a leg injury, Runnels said.

Coast Guard officials said they did not know which refinery or refineries the oil was destined for. The Houston-Galveston area is home to several major refineries.

Greene said the fire could burn out of control for two days, and authorities prepared for a worst-case scenario, putting together response teams consisting of Environmental Protection Agency officials, the Coast Guard Atlantic Strike Team and other state and federal agencies.

A high-seas boom to contain oil was being brought in from Mobile, Ala., Greene said.

Officials also requested a plane with special infrared detectors so that authorities could track an oil spill at night.

The Mega Borg was coming from Palanca, Angola. Its next port of call, after Galveston, was scheduled to be Aruba.

The tanker is operated by Mosvolds Shipping of Farsund, Norway. Managing Director Geir Larsen said that his company owns a little less than 50% of the tanker, through the K-S Mega Borg investment group. He said that the other owners are private investors, whom he did not identify.

Larsen said he knew of no previous problems associated with the ship. The crew was from the Philippines and the officers are Indian, he added.