Drilling Platform Ignites, Tank Explodes in Sea off Massachusetts

An offshore drilling platform caught fire, and a fuel tank aboard exploded Saturday, and authorities said they would have to let the blaze burn itself out.

The initial fire broke out about 4:15 a.m., Coast Guard Petty Officer Elizabeth Brannan said. About four hours later, a fuel tank on board the platform exploded, forcing two groups of firefighters off the deck.

The firefighters were not hurt, and neither were the two workers on the platform at the time the original fire broke out, Brannan said. There was no evidence that any of the fuel spilled into the ocean, she said.

The platform, about two miles off the Gloucester coast north of Boston, is used to drill pipelines to dispose of sewage at sea.

After the explosion, members of the Coast Guard and firefighters tried battling the blaze from the water before deciding to let it burn out, Brannan said. Rainstorms were helping to dampen the fire, she said.

“Basically, they’re just standing off and waiting for the fire to go out on its own,” Brannan said.

There are several other fuel tanks on the platform, but Brannan said there was little chance that any of those tanks would explode.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

The owners of the platform, Maitland Bros. of Louisiana, told authorities they would assume responsibility for the fire and have hired a company involved in the cleanup of Boston Harbor, Brannan said.

Four Coast Guard cutters, a fireboat from the Massachusetts Port Authority and several smaller boats--all equipped with firefighting equipment--were called to fight the blaze.