Asia

Stricken oil tanker pushed further away from Sri Lanka

adminSeptember 6, 20202 Mins read103 Views

COLOMBO: A fire-stricken oil tanker was pushed further away from Sri Lanka's coast and into deeper waters on Saturday (Sep 5), 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 330m vessel was towed overnight to deeper waters some 75km away from the coast.

"There is no oil slick reported," the Indian Coast Guard said as a joint effort by the two countries to prevent the tanker drifting closer to the island continued.

Sri Lankan navy officials said three powerful tug boats had been deployed to keep the rudderless craft in position to ensure there was no threat to the island's coast.

The fire was triggered by an engine room explosion that killed a Filipino crewman on Thursday morning but has since been brought under control AFP/-

Apart from the Sri Lankan and Indian shores, the nearest landmass to the crippled New Diamond was nearly 1,500km to the east at Banda Aceh in Indonesia.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa tweeted his thanks to the Indian and Sri Lankan forces for their "contribution in conserving marine biodiversity by preventing a disastrous situation out in the ocean."

TANKER BOARDED

The country's navy said rescuers were still spraying foam on the vessel but that the blaze had been brought under control.

"The Indian coastguard as well as we have boarded the tanker to carry out a preliminary evaluation," Sri Lankan navy spokesman Captain Indika de Silva told AFP.

"There is no immediate danger of the ship breaking up."

Map locating a stricken oil tanker off the coast of Sri Lanka AFP

However, the Indian Coast Guard reported observing a 2m crack in the hull 10m above the waterline, but that was not considered a catastrophic structural failure.

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 60km 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 vessRead More – Source

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