Indian Coast Guard deploys two more ships, aircraft to douse fire on oil tanker off Sri Lanka coast

IOC-chartered super structure had caught fire after explosion on board on September 3

India is deploying two additional ships and a Dornier aircraft to enhance efforts since Thursday to douse the fire on a fully loaded oil tanker off Sri Lanka’s East Coast.

“#FireFighting in progress in consultation with Master of #MTNewDiamond onboard #ICG ship Shaurya along with Tug APL Winger.Additional #ICG ship Ameya & Abheek being deployed #today in PR configuration to augment efforts. 02 CG Dornier aircraft also being deployed for air efforts,” the Indian Coast Guard said in a tweet Friday morning.

On Thursday, an oil tanker — carrying some 2,70,000 metric tonnes of crude oil — chartered by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) caught fire after an explosion on board, off Sri Lanka’s east coast. The New Diamond was travelling from Kuwait to the port of Paradip in Odisha. While the 23-member crew was rescued, one person is feared dead, according to local media.

“Three vessels of the Sri Lankan Navy and two sent by India are trying their best to contain the fire in accommodation and super structure, to prevent it from spreading to the cargo. Simultaneously, three tugs are trying to tow it further away from the coast,” Sri Lanka’s Navy spokesman Captain Indika de Silva told The Hindu on Friday.

The New Diamond had drifted closer to the coast since Thursday, he said. On Friday, it was at 25 nautical miles off the popular surfing spot of Arugambay on Sri Lanka’s east coast.

Two Russian vessels, which were calling at the southern Hambantota Port, joined the rescue operation on Thursday but withdrew as their capacity to extinguish external fires was limited.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre has issued an ‘Oil Spill Advisory’, based on a hypothetical scenario. The Daily FT newspaper on Friday flagged the possibility, highlighting the absence of laws in Sri Lanka to demand compensation from errant oil companies, in the event of a large-scale oil spill in Sri Lankan waters.

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