"tanker" news and stories

Like the Boston Molasses Disaster of 1919, the story of a Swiss freighter that almost exploded with cooked tapioca is safely behind us but still bears mentioning. In August 1972, the cargo of the Cassarate included timber and tapioca. The former caught fire and the hot water and steam created while dousing the blaze caused the 1,500 tons of Thai tapioca below deck to swell in the oven-like conditions. The Cassarate made an emergency stop in Wales, where the fires were finally extinguished. The hundreds of thousands of portions of tapioca, bound for Holland, never did wind up bursting the ship's hull. A recently updated Snopes page has excerpts from local newspapers that covered the incident.

Trucking info website Layover.com recently ran a story about what it takes to keep tanker trucks kosher. A link in the kosher food distribution chain that many diners may not think of, kosher washing stations for tanker trucks are apparently a big business. When a tanker truck drops off its liquid cargo, it then goes to a washing station to have its tank cleaned. Trucks that may have been carrying animal-based fats are obviously a concern to those eating a kosher diet. Likewise, some washing facilities reuse their rinse water, thus creating another breach, according to an Orthodox Union article about kosher trucking by Rabbi Leonard Steinberg. For many, building wash centers that are all kosher is a more practical solution than just offering a kosher-grade wash at a non-kosher facility. As this list shows, there are plenty of facilities. Hey, I thought it was interesting.