Stricken oil tanker pushed away from Sri Lankan coast

Rescuers are still spraying foam on the vessel but say that the blaze has been brought under control

Black smoke rises out from the oil tanker New Diamond, about 60 kilometres off Sri Lanka's eastern coast, after an engine room explosion and fire on September 3, 2020. AFP

The Panamanian-registered ship was bound for Paradip port on India's east coast after loading in Kuwait. AFP

Indian naval and coast guard vessels have joined Sri Lanka's efforts to extinguish the fire. AFP PHOTO

A ship is silhouetted by the glow from the fire on board that continued to burn overnight. Reuters

The New Diamond is carrying about 270,000 tonnes of crude and was chartered by Indian Oil Corp. AFP

Crew members aboard a navy boat after being rescued from the MT New Diamond. One crew member was killed and another injured in he explosion and fire aboard the tanker. Reuters

The tanker had 18 crew members from the Philippines and five from Greece. Reuters

An injured crew member is transferred on stretcher to a navy vessel. AP

Rescuers carry the injured crew member to an ambulance in Sangamankanda, Sri Lanka. AP

The injured crew member was receiving treatment in hospital, officials said. Reuters

A fire-stricken oil tanker was pushed away from Sri Lanka's coast and into deeper waters on Saturday, rescuers said, after successfully containing the blaze during a 36-hour operation.

The Panamanian-registered New Diamond carrying 270,000 tonnes of crude had drifted dangerously close to the eastern shores of Sri Lanka since issuing a distress message on Thursday morning.

The Indian Coast Guard and the Sri Lankan navy said the 330-metre (1,000-foot) vessel was towed overnight to deeper waters some 60 kilometres (37 miles) away from the coast to the east of Sri Lanka.

"There is no oil slick reported," the Indian Coast Guard said after a joint effort by the two countries to contain the blaze.

Sri Lanka's navy said rescuers were still spraying foam on the vessel, while also saying the blaze had been brought under control.

There was no immediate danger of the tanker breaking up despite a two-metre (6.6 feet) crack in the hull 10 metres above the waterline, it said.

A rescue and salvage effort that also involved the Indian and Russian navies brought the fire under control on Friday, before it could reach the vessel's cargo area.

"The fire is under control but not out yet," Navy Spokesman Captain Indika de Silva said.

"We are keeping the ship in a location that is far enough from the shore in case there is an oil leak, so that our shoreline does not get damaged."

The fire was triggered by an engine room explosion that killed a Filipino crewman on Thursday morning as the vessel was passing Sri Lanka on its way to the Indian port of Paradip.

It issued a distress signal 60 kilometres from Sri Lanka's eastern coastal town of Sangamankanda Point.

Three tugboats - two Indian and one chartered by the owners - were brought into action on Friday night to push the vessel back into deeper waters amid fears of an environmental disaster should the oil leak.

A total of 16 vessels, including specialised firefighting tugs and four aircraft, were deployed to bring the blaze under control by Friday night.

Sri Lanka's Marine Environment Protection Agency said legal action could be taken against the owners, Liberian-registered Porto Emporios Shipping Inc "should the worst happen and the ship breaks up".

The head of the agency, Darshani Lahandapur, said Sri Lanka does not have the resources or capacity to combat such a massive disaster and had appealed for help from regional countries.

She said her organisation plans to take legal action over the fire.

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.

Sri Lankan officials said they were considering a ship-to-ship transfer of the crude before salvaging the tanker.

The vessel is larger than the Japanese bulk carrier MV Wakashio, which crashed into a reef in Mauritius in July leaking more than 1,000 tonnes of oil into the island nation's pristine waters.

The Maldives, which neighbours Sri Lanka, has raised concerns that any oil spill from the New Diamond could cause serious environmental damage in the atoll of more than 1,000 coral islands that is heavily dependent on tourism and fishing.