Navy spokeswoman Captain Indika de Silva said the flames had spread to the New Diamond Bridge and that two Russian warships in Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port had set out to help fight fires. She had previously said that Navy personnel at the scene had reported that the fire was under control.
“We will need an international effort,” De Silva said, adding that there was still no damage to the ship’s cargo area.
“There were 23 crew members on board. We took an injured crew member to Sri Lanka aboard one of our ships.”
The New Diamond, a very large crude oil carrier (VLCC) chartered by Indian oil Corp (IOC), was fully loaded with the equivalent of about 2 million barrels of oil, Refinitiv data showed.
Photographs taken by the Sri Lankan air force showed extensive damage to the tanker’s funnel and thick black smoke and flames coming from the bridge, which is located just behind the cargo area.
Another spokesman, Commander Ranjith Rajapaksa, said the VLCC was on fire some 20 nautical miles off the east coast of Sri Lanka and that the military had sent a aircraft and two boats to help.
One of its 23 crew members was missing, Rajapaksa told Reuters.
@IndiaCoastGuard in a rapid #SAR operation coordinated by sea and air immediately diverted the #ICG ships Shaurya, Sarang, S… https://t.co/jECJ6mCt9T
– Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) 1599126020000
On Twitter, the Indian coast guard said it had sent several ships and planes to help fight the blaze.
The ship left the port of Mina Al Ahmadi in Kuwait, loaded with Kuwait Export crude, Refinitiv Eikon tracking data showed. It was heading to the Indian port of Paradip, where the state IOC has a 300,000 barrel-a-day refinery.
The Sri Lanka Marine Protection Authority said it would take steps to prevent any possible oil leakage from the tanker.
Such a spill could cause an “environmental disaster”, warned Ashok Sharma, managing director of the BRS Baxi ship corridor in Singapore.
“No double-hull VLCC has spilled oil to date, but it depends on the damage to the ship,” he added.
Thursday’s incident came just over a month after a state of “environmental emergency” triggered by the spill of some 1,000 tonnes of fuel oil from a Japanese bulk carrier, MV Wakashio, when it ran aground on a reef in Mauritius.
De Silva said part of the New Diamond’s crew was rescued by tanker Helen M, who according to an industry source was on a time contract with Reliance Industries of India.
“The fire occurred at 7.45am India time,” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Nature is explosion and fire and serious injuries to the crew.”
In a statement, the ship’s insurer, West of England, said: “We can confirm that these two ships are entering the West of England. The Club is in close contact with our members and the relevant authorities and it would be inappropriate to do more. comments. right now. ”
The second ship referenced was the Gulf Livestock 1, which was sailing to China from New Zealand with 43 crew members and nearly 6,000 head of cattle that sank off Japan on Thursday.
There was no immediate comment from IOC, Reliance Industries and Kuwait Petroleum Corp.
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