The oil tanker which caught fire off Germany’s Baltic Sea coast on Friday did not suffer any visible damage to its hull as a result of the fire, the water police has confirmed.

Divers inspected the exterior of the 73-metre-long tanker Annika on Saturday. The dive, which was documented with a helmet camera, was intended to determine whether there were any deformations in the hull or changes to the paintwork caused by the build-up of heat.

The tanker, which was carrying 640 tonnes of heavy fuel oil when a fire broke out in its rear early on Friday, was towed overnight to the north-eastern German port of Rostock, where the fire was extinguished.

Major damage was said to have occurred to the rear of the ship.

Investigations into the cause of the fire are to begin on Monday. Until then the ship is out of service and oil barriers have been erected around it as a precaution. So far, no pollutants have leaked from the double-hulled tanker.
Source: DPA