- A fire on a large oil tanker drifting off Sri Lanka’s coast was extinguished on Sunday after burning for three days.
- Four tug boats, three Sri Lankan navy ships and four Indian ships have been battling the fire on the MT New Diamond since Thursday.
- Two more Indian ships joined the effort Saturday evening.
- The tanker, carrying nearly 2 million barrels of crude oil, was drifting about 20 nautical miles from Sri Lanka’s eastern coast.
- The fire killed one crew member and injured another. Both are Filipino.
Fire on tanker off Sri Lanka under control, ship towed away, reports
Indian Coast Guard ships deployed
“There is a risk of occasional fires due to deep sea winds and such unexpected fires are being controlled by tugs and Indian Coast Guard ships deployed on the location,” the navy said in a statement.
The head of Sri Lanka’s Marine Environment Protection Authority, Darshani Lahandapur looked into the accident. She said her organization plans to take legal action over the fire.
How the fire began?
The fire began in an engine room boiler but had not spread to the tanker’s oil storage area and no leak has been reported, the navy said.
Sri Lankan officials have warned of possible massive environmental damage to Sri Lanka if the ship leaks or explodes.
Also read VLCC With 2 Million Oil Barrels Catch Fire,1 Dead
Crew members safe
The tanker had 23 crew members — 18 Filipinos and five Greeks. Twenty-one crew left the tanker uninjured as the fire burned.
The tanker was transporting crude oil from the port of Mina Al Ahmadi in Kuwait to the Indian port of Paradip, where the state-owned Indian Oil Corp. has a refinery.
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Source: Norfolk Daily News & AP News
