Firefighting vessels fighting to extinguish a fire at Panama-registered crude oil tanker New Diamond: AFP
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka thanked India on Friday for its support in putting out a large fire aboard a tanker carrying crude from Kuwait which left one of its 23 crew members dead and stressed that he would need international assistance in the event of a spill. Indian ships were supporting the Lankan Navy for a second day on Friday to put out the fire that started when the tanker’s engine room caught fire off the coast of Sangamankanda in the eastern Ampara district.
It was carrying 270,000 metric tons of crude oil from Kuwait to India.
“We are receiving support from India and we are grateful to them,” Sri Lankan army chief Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva told reporters.
Said a joint Navy, Air Force and Indian coast The naval guard and support operation was underway.
The Sri Lankan Navy confirmed Friday that a Philippine sailor was killed in a boiler explosion in the engine room of the Panama-registered tanker MT New Diamond that caught fire Thursday.
The Navy said that 22 of the 23 crew members had been safely rescued from the tanker.
Rear Admiral Nandana Jayaratne, Director General of Operations for the Sri Lanka Navy, said there was no threat of oil spill from the tanker due to the fire.
“The Indian Coast Guard had observed a crack just below the superstructure of the ship, but that does not mean that the ship is falling apart and there will be an oil spill,” Jayaratne said.
“We will definitely need international support in the event of a spill,” Jayaratne said.
Jayaratne said, “the worst case now would be that the intense heat of the fire cannot be controlled, in 5, 6 to 7 days, the hull cracks, the boat breaks and starts to tilt, then you have to do what it’s called pen placement Stop the spill, we’ll need international support to clean up if it ever happened. ”
The Navy said shipowners based on Liberia I have contacted them.
Meanwhile, the president of the Marine Environmental Protection Authority (MEPA), Darshani Lahandapura, said that if an oil spill occurs, it will be one of the biggest environmental disasters not only in the region but in the world.
He said criminal action would be brought against the ship’s owners for environmental damage if the oil spill occurred.
“We have already filed a complaint and have sought the advice of the Attorney General,” he said.
The vessel in distress is in waters 23 nautical miles from the east coast where the depth of the sea is measured at 3100 meters.
The operation to put out the fire was resumed this morning under the supervision of the Greek national captain of the tanker.
The Indian naval frigate INS Sahyadri It started operations at 0200 on Friday.
The Navy said two more ships from the Indian Coast Guard will join the rescue operations.
The Indian Coast Guard said on Thursday it pressured three of its ships and a Dornier plane after the Sri Lankan Navy sought help to control the fire on board the tanker.
In a rapid coordinated search and rescue (SAR) operation by sea and air, The coast guard It said it immediately diverted ICG vessels Shaurya, Sarang and Samudra Paheredar, as well as a Dornier plane for the shooting on the tanker.
The Sri Lankan Navy said the two Russian ships that were docked at the Hambantota port since August 31 and sent to the area to join the rescue operations departed Sri Lankan waters this morning.
On Thursday night, MV Helen, a ship sailing in the area, rescued 3 Greeks and 16 Filipino crew from the distressed ship.
The Navy spokesman said at least four ships had been dispatched to carry out the rescue operation.
The warships were dispatched from the eastern port of Trincomalee and the southern port of Hambantota.
At the time the fire broke out, the Panama-registered ship was about 38 nautical miles (70 kilometers) east of Sri Lanka.
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