Oil tanker fire raises fears of another oil spill in the Indian Ocean

The tanker New Diamond, off Sri Lanka, has been engulfed in flames since Thursday, September 3.

SRI LANKAN AIR FORCE / AFP

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A Panamanian-flagged tanker remained in flames off Sri Lanka on Friday for the second day in a row.

The fire increases fears of a large-scale oil spill in the Indian Ocean, after the one that polluted the coast of Mauritius in August.

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Sri Lankan military vessels and coast guards from neighboring India continued to attempt to extinguish the blaze raging on the New Diamond with fire hoses.

The tanker carries 270,000 tonnes of crude oil and 1,700 tonnes of diesel.

He issued a distress call Thursday after an explosion in his engine room.

A Sri Lankan military helicopter was dropping water.

Indian Navy ships were also en route to the burning tanker.

The Maldives, located a thousand kilometers southwest of Sri Lanka, have expressed concern over a possible oil spill.

According to the Indian Coast Guard, the hull of the New Diamond has a two-meter crack above the waterline.

However, the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Center said there was no imminent danger of an oil spill.

" 

 sounds," the head of the center, Sudantha Ranasinghe, told AFP.

“ 

 ”.

The authorities are considering a transshipment of the cargo, he said.

The evacuation of the crew by the Sri Lankan navy 

A Filipino sailor perished in the explosion, the Sri Lankan navy confirmed in a statement.

The other 22 crew members, including five Greeks and 17 Filipinos, were evacuated after being hoisted by helicopter. 

The third officer of the tanker, also Filipino, was badly burned and hospitalized in Kalmunai, 360 kilometers east of Colombo.

His condition is stable, according to the spokesman for the Sri Lankan navy.

The 330-meter-long VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) tanker was some sixty kilometers east of the Sri Lankan coast when it issued its distress signal.

As the fire intensified, it drifted around ten kilometers overnight, approaching the Sri Lankan coastline.

Sri Lanka and India then dispatched reconnaissance planes to follow the ship.

Master of #MTNewDiamond along with ICG Officer & Sailor from #ICG ship Shaurya embarked onboard oil tanker & assessed towing & anchoring provision. # ICG efforts on to contain fire.

#ICG ship Sarang reached scene of incident and commenced #FireFighting alongwith SL Navy & ICG ships pic.twitter.com/XWMwp7U25G

  Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) September 4, 2020

Prevent another oil spill 

Departing from Kuwait, bound for the Indian port of Paradip, the New Diamond is about thirty meters longer than the

which ran aground at the end of July on a reef in the south-east of Mauritius.

Three weeks later, the wreckage broke in two, after a race against time to pump out the fuel it contained.

In the meantime, the MV Wakashio had released at least 1,000 tonnes of fuel oil that soiled the coast, including protected areas with mangrove forests and endangered species, and crystal clear waters popular with tourists.

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The Maldives have raised concerns about a possible oil spill from the New Diamond that could cause serious damage to the environment.

This archipelago of 1,192 coral islands depends on fishing and tourism.

Ahmed Naseem, cabinet minister to the president of the Maldives, called for precautionary measures for his country.

An oil spill " 

 ," he tweeted.

Maldives needs to watch this oil spill carefully and take all precautions to prevent it from reaching her shores.

This could be a major disaster.

pic.twitter.com/tTXPYHe3a0

  Ahmed Naseem (@KerafaNaseem) September 3, 2020

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• Sri Lanka

• Maldives

• Environment

• Pollution

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