Captain perishes in fire on freighter

By Times staff writer

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 28, 2001

TAMPA -- A fire in the galley of a freighter docked at Port Sutton killed the ship's captain early Saturday.

The fire started about midnight Friday on the 285-foot merchant vessel Lucas, which operates out of Antigua and Barbuda.

Smoke and flames quickly overwhelmed the eight-person crew, said U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Ron Patrick.

While waiting for help from the Coast Guard and firefighters from Tampa and Hillsborough County, the ship's chief mate tried to rescue the captain, who was below deck in his cabin. The mate was overcome by smoke and taken to Tampa General Hospital.

The Coast Guard has not released the names of the captain or the chief mate.

Investigators from the Coast Guard will try to determine the cause of the fire, which took four hours to extinguish.

The Lucas had docked Friday to load phosphate at IMC-Agrico Co.

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