petrol after a collision with a cargo ship off Belgium.

Another two were missing and feared dead after the blaze swept the British tanker in the Englsih Channel.

Yesterday the Bermuda Government appointed a UK inspector to launch an investigation into the incident.

The collision with a Panamanian bulk carrier occurred in thick fog about 15 miles off the port of Ostend in the early hours yesterday.

Fire-fighting ships battled throughout the day to douse the flames aboard the 25,000-tonne British Trent .

The fire was brought under control by late afternoon yesterday.

Earlier, Belgian maritime officials were worried the ship, drifting a few miles off the Belgian coast, might explode.

Mr. Marc Claus, director of the Flanders Marine administration, announced the search for the missing Briton and a seaman from Sierra Leone will continue until sunset.

"You can only survive for so long under these conditions,'' he said.

The tanker is one of many in British Petroleum's fleet registered in Bermuda.

Government's principal marine surveyor Mr. David Wright said BP enjoyed doing business here.

"We are attractive because of our tax regime. We also have a very good reputation.

"It's quite unusual for a Bermuda-registered ship to be in any accident involving casualties.

"With regard to casualties per ton of ship we are one of the best.'' None of the 36 people on board was Bermudian.

Transport Minister the Hon. Ralph Marshall yesterday appointed Mr. Peter Dalby, an inspector from the marine accident investigation branch of the UK Transport Department, to mount a preliminary inquiry into the incident.

A gaping hole was punched into the tanker's port bow by the collision with the 16,000-ton Western Winner .

Fuel gushed out, and a ball of flame shot into the air. Explosions also ripped through the ship.

The tanker's entire crew lined up on one side of the vessel and jumped into the sea.

"Those who died were all burned to death in the blazing sea around the vessel,'' said Mr. Charles Demey, Ostend's chief maritime officer.

The survivors were lucky. A nearby pilot boat launched lifeboats that picked them up within minutes.

Said seaman Mr. Ian Rippon: "There was no time for anything. We tried to get into the boats and then the flames came around the side. By that stage we could not do anything.'' Of the bodies, three were British, two Irish, and two from Sierra Leone.

The six most seriously injured, including the tanker's British captain, were flown by helicopter to hospital in Bruges.

Suffering mainly from breathing problems from smoke inhalation, their condition was stable.

Some women also on board escaped unhurt.

Mr. Wright told The Royal Gazette Bermuda did not have a crew list for the tanker.

"We do normally have access to one, but in a situation like this where there are casualties we wouldn't release names. We have to think of the next of kin.'' Mr. Wright said media inquiries about crew members should be made to BP.

Those on board included 12 officers, 17 crew members, five cadets, and two wives.

The officers were British or Irish nationals, with the exception of a Polish officer. The crew were from Sierra Leone.

BP Shipping chairman Dr. Les Atkinson said he was deeply sorry about the "tragic'' incident, offering condolences to the families involved.

BP said it had no reason to believe, at this stage, that the collision was anything other than an accident.

Mr. Atkinson announced BP would launch its own inquiry.

British Trent -- which had been en route from the Belgian port of Antwerp to Italy -- was later towed 10 miles offshore.

The fire in the accommodation block was out, although there was still some burning.

Meanwhile, BP and environmental officials played down pollution dangers.

"For us the risk of pollution has totally gone,'' said a Belgian environment ministry official.

He considered small a three kilometre slick, which he expected to disappear by Saturday.

INFERNO -- Tugboats spray the blazing Bermuda-registered tanker British Trent.