COLOMBO (SRI LANKA) – Sri Lankan Navy on Friday began to tow away the fully loaded supertanker that had caught fire off its east coast after the vessel began to drift towards the shore.
Navy spokesman Captain Indika de Silva said the blaze was still raging on the New Diamond which is carrying 2 million barrels of oil. There were 23 crew on board the vessel and one of them, a Filipino, is presumed dead. The rest have been evacuated and taken to Colombo for treatment.
De Silva said there were signs of oil spill from the vessel, adding that vessels of the Russian Navy and Indian Coast Guard were also assisting in dousing the blaze.
On Thursday morning, a fire broke out in the engine room of the vessel and spread to the bridge. However the cargo is still safe, the Navy said. The vessel was chartered by Indian Oil Corp (IOC).
The ship was stranded 38 km (24 miles) east of the town of Thirukovil initially. But after the evacuation of the crew, the supertanker drifted within 25 km of the coast.
“The missing Filipino sailor is presumed dead. He was badly injured when a boiler exploded,” de Silva said.
“There were 5 Greek and 18 Philippine nationals among the crew. One of them was injured and he was airlifted out of the ship and the rest were accounted for.”
Although there are no signs of a leak, the country’s meteorology department is studying the impact of 70,000 tonnes of crude oil spilling into the ocean.
The ship set sail from Mina Al Ahmadi in Kuwait, loaded with Kuwait Export Crude, as shown by Refinitiv Eikon tracking data. It was bound for the Indian port of Paradip.
