Re-ignition of fire observed on MT New Diamond, says Indian Navy

Indian Navy on Monday said that a re-ignition of the fire was observed on the starboard side of the oil tanker MT New Diamond. Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter, the Indian Navy said that fire-fighting and boundary cooling efforts were intensified to bring the fire under control.

"Re-ignition of fire observed on Starboard (Right) side of MT New Diamond. Fire-fighting & boundary cooling efforts intensified to bring fire under control. Salvage Team has arrived at the scene. Additional assets, salvage personnel & FF equipment also enroute," the Indian Navy said in a tweet.

The fire onboard oil tanker MT New Diamond off Sri Lanka coast has been doused, the Indian Coast Guard had said on September 6 (Sunday), adding that cooling of the ship was in progress. The ICG had been engaged in fire fighting and pollution response operation for MT New Diamond since September 3.

#Update
Re-ignition of fire observed on Starboard (Right) side of #MTNewDiamond.
Fire-fighting & boundary cooling efforts intensified to bring fire under control.
Salvage Team has arrived at scene. Additional assets, salvage personnel & FF equipment also enroute.@SpokespersonMoD pic.twitter.com/NhOoUOLy2C — SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) September 7, 2020

Motor Tanker (MT) New Diamond caught fire after a major explosion in its engine room on September 3 when it was transiting in Sri Lankan exclusive economic zone. The large 333-metre long crude carrier is carrying over three lakh metric tons of crude oil for the Indian Oil Corporation from Kuwait to Paradip.

On September 6, the MT New Diamond oil tanker was being held in position 42 miles by tug from the Sri Lankan Coast. This was 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 were on location to undertake this mammoth effort. 

No oil spill has been so far reported and the fire is localised. Response ship Samudra Paheredar was also 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. 

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.