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The Sri Lankan navy says its divers have repaired a fuel leak from the engine of a fire-damaged tanker off the island’s east coast in a rescue operation after the week-long blaze.
While the Navy said on Saturday that no crude oil had escaped from the New Diamond’s cargo, the leaked diesel fuel had created a two-kilometer-long slick in the Indian Ocean.
The fuel was leaking into the water through damaged pipes connected to a ballast water intake on the starboard side of the ship, according to a statement from the Navy.
That leak was plugged on Friday along with an inlet on the port side of the Panama-registered tanker, he said.
Dutch salvage company SMIT said its experts boarded the damaged vessel and found that the 270,000 tonne cargo of crude oil was unaffected by the fire.
“The cargo tanks with the crude are intact,” the firm told AFP news agency in The Hague on Friday. “Discussions continue about the destination of the ship to transfer the crude.”
The Greek-owned tanker, which carries around two million barrels of oil, caught fire on September 3 and is currently 45 nautical miles (83 km) off the east coast of Sri Lanka.
Marine disaster
Sri Lanka’s environmental authorities fear a marine disaster if the tanker is allowed to transfer its oil to another ship in the country’s waters.
The fire was completely extinguished on Wednesday, but an unspecified amount of the ship’s 1,700 tonnes of fuel leaked as storage tanks ruptured in the fire that destroyed the engine room and much of the ship’s structure.
“The Sri Lankan navy, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), and the tugs that participated in the fire fighting are still in the area,” the navy said.
He added that an Indian plane used to spray chemicals to disperse the diesel stain in the past two days was on standby.
Sri Lanka has asked the ship’s owners to tow it away from the country’s exclusive economic zone, 370 kilometers (231 miles) from its coast.
Sri Lankan authorities are seeking to prevent coastal damage such as that suffered by Mauritius after a Japanese bulk carrier, MV Wakashio, struck a coral reef off the Indian Ocean island on July 25 and began spilling oil on July 6. August.
Sri LankaThe Marine Environment Protection Authority has said it plans to take action against the ship’s owner under the country’s laws to protect the marine ecosystem.
The New Diamond issued a distress signal a week ago as it passed through Sri Lanka on its way to the port of Paradip in northeastern India when a caldera exploded and killed a Filipino crew member. The remaining 22 crew members were rescued.
The large oil hauler was chartered by the Indian Oil Corporation to import oil from Kuwait to a refinery in Paradip.
