Captain of Danish ship says drills helped pull crew to safety

Practice in emergency drills saved a Danish ship and its crew from a massive fire that engulfed the Port of Providence dock where the ship was unloading gasoline, the ship’s captain said Thursday. In his first public statement since the fire, Leif Nielsen, captain of the 600-foot tanker Nordeuropa, said the drills taught his crew what to do late Tuesday night after the dock burst into flames when lightning struck nearby. “We train and drill and refine practices, and it was a matter of considerable pride to me to see all that effort come through on Tuesday night,” Nielsen said in a statement sent by e-mail to The Associated Press.