Liberia Coast Guard to investigate abandoned tanker

MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) - Liberia's Defense Ministry has dispatched Coast Guard personnel to investigate a tanker that washed ashore with no one onboard some 75 kilometers (47 miles) from Monrovia about a week ago.

Authorities are piecing information together and searching the maritime registry to try to determine the owner of the Tamaya 1, Defense Minister Brownie Samukai said late Tuesday.

"Elements of the ship were burned, particularly the communication area," Samukai said.

Assistant Defense Minister David Dahn told The Associated Press that Coast Guard personnel sent to the area had entered the vessel.

"As clearly as we can see, the ship was in distress," Dahn said, adding that no passengers were on board. He said the ship is believed to be an oil tanker and flew a Nigerian flag.

He said one of the ship's two lifeboats was still onboard, meaning the other may have been used by the crew.

Liberia's 563-kilometer (350-mile) Atlantic Ocean coastline is largely under-patrolled.