MT New Diamond Fire off Sri Lanka coast: No oil spill reported, cargo hold safe

Photo: Zee Media

New Delhi: The MT New Diamond oil tanker that has been ablaze since Thursday afternoon, is currently being held in position 42 miles by tug from the Sri Lankan Coast. This is being done to prevent the drifting of the vessel towards the shore and to facilitate fire-fighting operations with logistical ease. 

Six vessels from the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), their embarked helicopters, two Dornier aircraft and one warship of the Indian Navy are on location to undertake this mammoth effort. 

No oil spill has been so far reported and the fire is localised.

Response ship Samudra Paheredar arrived at the scene of the incident on Sunday afternoon and joined the fire fighting operation. 

The ship is equipped with Ocean Boom, 4 Oil Skimmers and Oil Spill Dispersant to handle pollution response in event of an oil slick.

ICG Ships Sujay, Shaurya, Sarang and Pollution Response Vessel Samudra Paheredar are continuously engaged in fire fighting operation on rotation using specialised external fire fighting systems.

ICG Fast Patrol vessels Ameya and Abheek embarked with aqueous film forming foam concentrate (AFFF), Dry Chemical Powder and Oil Spill Dispersants are in close vicinity to render assistance as required. 

Besides this, Sri Lankan Ships Samudra, Udara, SLCGS Samaraksha, SLCGS Samudra Raksha, SLN FACs P 462 and 464 alongwith INS Sahyadri are in the area.

The Indian Coast Guard Dornier aircraft are performing morning and evening sorties from Mattala International Airport, Sri Lanka, for aerial assessment. 

Coast Guard helicopters that are embarked on the ships are also being launched regularly for aerial assessment, planning the further course of action.

Aerial recce is also being conducted by Sri Lankan Air Force Beachcraft and water spraying via Bambi Bucket is being carried out by Sri Lankan Air Force MI-17 helicopter. 

The inertness of cargo is being maintained with sustained fire fighting operations. While no oil spill has been reported, fire remains localised and the cargo hold is reported to be safe. The fire appears to be doused and no flame and smoke are visible.

Continuous boundary cooling is in progress using AFFF and water spraying. No further increase in the crack or any significant change in trim or list has been observed.

The Indian authorities are maintaining continuous liaison and co-ordination with Sri Lankan Navy/Coast Guard and other authorities for augmentation and effective response.

This very large crude carrier- MT New Diamond is a Greek-owned vessel, under charter by Indian Oil Cooperation. The vessel has been ablaze following a major explosion in the engine room while transiting Sri Lanka’s Exclusive Economic Zone. The first information about the vessel being on fire was received at Indian Coast Guard Maritime Rescue Co-Ordination Centre (MRCC) Mumbai.

MT New Diamond is reportedly carrying more than 2.7 lakh MT Kuwait export crude oil that was destined for Paradip, Odisha. According to Marinetraffic.com, MT New Diamond is a 20-year old Crude oil tanker that is 333 meters long and 60 meters wide.