As reported by CNN, a fire on a chartered by Indian company Indian Oil Corporation broke out on Thursday morning local time. The New Diamond was then approximately 20 miles east of the Sri Lankan coast.
A fire on board an oil tanker off the coast of Sri Lanka. The services are towing a burning ship
Fire it was supposed to appear in the tanker’s engine room first. Two rescue ships were dispatched to the site Sri Lanka. The ships of the Russian Navy and the Indian coast guard were also to help.
Initially, the unit ran aground 38 kilometers east of the city of Thirukovil. After the crew had been evacuated, the ship began to drift approximately 25 kilometers off the Sri Lankan coast. For this reason, the island authorities decided to tow the burning tanker away from the mainland. The Sri Lankan navy said there were no signs of an oil spill from the ship. According to the announcement fire has not yet covered the barrels stored on the unit.
New Diamond transported about two million barrels of crude oil (1 barrel is roughly 160 liters of crude oil). The transport began in Kuwait and was to end in the Indian Paradipa, where the refinery is located. At the time of the fire, 23 crew members were on board. One of them was injured and the other is missing. The seaman from the Philippines is most likely dead. The crew included a total of five Greek nationals and 18 Filipino nationals.
