10/31 09:56 Tanker With Toxic Chemicals Sinks Off French Coast (Update2) By Tom Pfeiffer

Cherbourg, France, Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) -- An Italian- registered tanker containing 6,000 tons of toxic chemicals for Royal Dutch/Shell Group and Exxon Mobil Corp. sank off the French coast, threatening an environmental disaster.

The Ievoli Sun, abandoned by its crew of 14 yesterday after taking on water in rough seas near the island of Batz, was carrying 4,000 tons of styrene, which is corrosive and doesn't dissolve in water, marine officials said. The ship is lying on the seabed at a depth of 60 to 70 meters (200 to 230 feet).

``With bad winter weather on the way, there's a good chance the chemicals will escape,'' said Dominique Masson, president of the trade group that represents fisherman from the Haute-Normandie region. ``If they do, they will probably reach the coast and endanger the oyster beds.''

The accident comes about 11 months after the tanker Erika broke up off France's western coast, spilling 20,000 tons of fuel owned by Total Fina Elf SA along 400 kilometers (250 miles) of coastline. That company agreed to pay 700 million francs ($90 million) to help clean up the damage.

A French tugboat, which tried to bring the Ievoli Sun into port, towed the vessel to within 19 kilometers of the channel island of Alderney before it sank at 9 a.m.

Shell, Exxon Mobil

At least part of the styrene was being transported for Shell, a spokeswoman for the oil company said. The tanker was also carrying two 1,000-ton cargoes of two less toxic chemicals, isopropyl alcohol and methyl-ethyl-cetone, for Exxon Mobil. The substances are used to make household products such as deodorants and window cleaners. An Exxon Mobil spokesman denied they are dangerous for the environment, though he said cetone can be an irritant.

``For the moment, there is little risk the products will escape, as the vessel did not break up,'' said Gerard Mechain, an official at the Cherbourg coast guard. Navy helicopters are surveying the scene of the shipwreck. There are no signs that the cargo has leaked, Mechain said.

French Environment Minister Dominique Voynet is traveling to the scene to assess the danger to the local economy if the chemicals leak out of the wreck, the ministry said in a statement faxed to news agencies.

The tanker, owned by Italian shipping company Marvani, was built in 1989 and is double-hulled. It had been inspected by Rina, the coast guard in Cherbourg said. The Italian classification company had also cleared the Erika as fit to sail.

The Ievoli Sun was sailing from Fawley, near Southampton, on the English south coast, bound for a petrochemical plant at Bar in the Yugoslavian republic of Montenegro.

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-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), October 31, 2000