The emergency services apparently succeeded in extinguishing the fire on the oil tanker “New Diamond” off the east coast of Sri Lanka. The work would continue to prevent the flames from flaring again, said Marine spokesman Indika de Silva of the Reuters news agency.
Reuters footage shows how helicopters dropped water over the seat of the fire and fire boats sprayed the rear of the 330 meter long ship with water.On Thursday the fire broke out after an explosion in the engine room of the “New Diamond”. According to the information, the heat caused cracks at the welds of the almost fully loaded oil tanker.
The ship flying the Panama flag was chartered by the Indian Oil Company and was on its way from Kuwait to the Indian port of Paradip with more than 270,000 tons of crude oil.
Fire extinguishing experts from Europe arrived at the scene of the accident yesterday: ten British and Dutch experts with special knowledge, according to the message from the Sri Lankan government.
Towed out to sea
In order to prevent the danger of an environmental catastrophe directly off the coast, the “New Diamond” was pulled even further out to sea. On Saturday night, tugs had already towed the oil tanker around 60 kilometers from the coast.
According to the information, a total of 16 watercraft are involved in the fire-fighting work – as well as helicopters and fire-fighting aircraft. As the Indian Coast Guard announced on Twitter, a special ship was sent to the scene of the accident to fight oil in order to prevent an environmental disaster in the event of a possible oil leak from the “New Diamond”.
“We will make it”
The head of operations of the Sri Lankan Navy, Rear Admiral Jayarathna, expressed confidence: The ship is about 20 meters deep in the water, and there is enormous pressure on the hull. “In our practical experience, this limits oil spillage. We know this, the Indian Coast Guard knows this and everyone else does. I am sure that with international help we will be able to clean up an oil spill, if it occurs at all. “
Sri Lanka’s marine protection authority warned of a huge environmental disaster should the damaged “New Diamond” lose its cargo.
