COLOMBO, Sept 12 (NNN-XINHUA) – The Sri Lankan Navy said that, a three-member team had boarded the MT New Diamond oil tanker, which caught fire in Sri Lanka’s eastern waters last Thursday, to carry out an investigation after the fire had been completely doused.
The three-member team was from the salvor and they boarded the oil tanker after a six-member team from overseas also got on board.
The navy said preliminary investigations into the distressed ship had already been completed.
The MT New Diamond is carrying 270,000 metric tonnes of crude oil, and was heading to the Paradip Port in India from Kuwait, when a fire broke out in its engine room, last Thursday, threatening to cause a massive oil spill in the Indian Ocean, while being in Sri Lanka’s waters.
The navy said, a fuel patch spotted in the sea, where the ship was located had been caused by leaks from the ship’s fuel tanks, and not the crude oil tanks.
The ship is presently 50 nautical miles away from the eastern coast.
The navy said, nine ships from Sri Lankan Navy, Indian Coast Guard, and Indian Navy, together with two Sri Lankan Coast Guard Ships and three Fast Attack Craft and six tugs deployed by other stakeholders, were actively engaged in the operation.
Apart from that, aircraft of the Sri Lankan Air Force and a Dornier aircraft of the Indian Coast Guard are doing aerial reconnaissance intermittently.
Further, efforts are being made to remove toxic gases and other vapours, caused by the fire, from the engine room and other compartments of the ship, the navy said.– NNN-XINHUA
