Short Stories

A Ship Experiences "Bloating"

A Ship Experiences "Bloating"

A fire began within a load of lumber being carried by a Swiss freighter. The crew managed to extinguish the fire, but they were forced to keep it under control by keeping the hot and smoldering wood as wet as possible. They kept this up for almost a month at sea until the wood caught fire again, and the ship was forced to land in Wales. The oddest part of the story wasn't the fire, but the cargo. What the crew failed to realize throughout the 25 days they were pouring water on the lumber was that the heat from the wood combined with the water seeping down into the lower cargo hold combined to create one of the world's first giant steam cookers.

The 1500 tons of tapioca in the cargo hold began to cook and expand. By the time the freighter docked in Wales, not only was the timber ablaze again, but the ship was under threat of buckling from the pressure of the expanded tapioca if it reached its boiling point. It took two days for fire crews to clear the fire and lumber and save the ship from the potentially explosive tapioca.

Truth: This event actually happened in 1972 in Cardiff, Wales, when the Swiss freighter Cassarate was forced to dock due to a fire in the upper holds.

Source: paranormal.lovetoknow. com