MOL starts Giant Step pollution operation

Tokyo: Mitsui OSK Linest today reported that two more crew members of the
MOL-operated iron ore carrier Giant Step, which went aground offshore Kashima Port in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, were found at sea, and confirmed dead yesterday. The confirmed death toll is now at eight, and the company continues to search for two missing crew members. A total of 16 crew members were rescued, and two of them are in the hospital. Yesterday, the swell finally subsided so MOL worked to prevent oil spills from the bunker tanks and conducted an underwater inspection by divers with the intent of extracting the remaining oil. The company said it would start full-scale oil removal work if weather and hydrographic conditions permit, and  expressed its deepest sorrow at the loss of the crew members and heartfelt sympathy to the bereaved families. [13/11/06]