Japan to search stricken whaling ship for crewman

CANBERRA, Feb 16 (Reuters) The crew of a Japanese whaling ship on fire off the coast of Antarctica hope to get below decks today to search for a missing crewman as fears ease of an environmental disaster, New Zealand rescue authorities said.

The blaze in the processing area of the black-hulled Nisshin Maru, the 8,000 tonne flagship of the Japan whaling fleet, had dropped in intensity overnight, lowering concerns of an oil or chemical leak spill from the ship into pristine Antarctic seas.

''They have managed to pump off excess water from the fire fighting, so the ship is no longer listing, but they haven't managed to re-enter the space to find the crewman or assess damages,'' Maritime New Zealand spokesman Steve Corbett said.

The fire broke out yesterday and maritime authorities said anti-whaling protesters in the Southern Ocean, which clashed with the whalers on Monday, were not involved.

The fire, fuelled in part by whale oil, had been contained below deck and the Japanese crew were now simply waiting for it to burn itself out, said Maritime New Zealand.

Corbett said the fire was burning in a whale processing area above the engine room and below the ship's bridge.

About 30 people were still on board to fight the fire and it was thought a missing crewman had perished on board.

''They have to wait until it's cooled down enough to get inside and look for the missing crewman. We don't believe he's gone overboard, so the fear is that he was trapped inside and perished in the fire,'' Corbett said.

It is unclear whether the ship, currently disabled, will be able to restart its engines. If it remains disabled the Nisshin Maru will continue to threaten the environment if calm weather in the Southern Ocean, known for massive storm seas, turns bad.

New Zealand's government said yesterday that if an oil leak occurred an international response would be launched involving New Zealand, Australia and the United States, which all have Antarctic bases.

REUTERS PB VC1002