Liberian tanker fire near Dardanelles under control: official

ANKARA, Nov 23 (AFP) - Turkish firefighting tugs brought a fire under control that erupted Tuesday off western Turkey aboard a Liberian tanker carrying 74,000 tonnes of Russian crude, a maritime official said.
The ship, identified by the Anatolia news agency as the Gemmar Progress, was headed for the Italian port of Salerno when fire broke out in the living quarters, Adnan Erdal, regional director of the Turkish Maritime Affairs Department, told AFP.
The cause of the blaze, which erupted shortly after the ship emerged from the vital Dardanelles waterway into the international waters of the Aegean Sea, was not immediately known, Erdal said.
Erdal said the 232-meter (766-foot) ship is now 16.5 miles off the Turkish coast and has been offered haven in nearby Turkish ports.
"There is nothing to worry about," he said.
Maritime officials in Istanbul said there were no injuries reported among the ship`s 28-man crew.

11/23/2004 14:00 GMT - AFP