Fire on the high seas
A fully loaded oil tanker NewDiamond, a very large crude carrier (VLCC) chartered by Indian Oil Corp (IOC), catches fire off the east coast of Sri Lanka while on its way to port of Paradip. The carrier was carrying crude oil from Kuwait to India. According to Sri Lankan media reports, the fire started in the engine room of the oil tanker and then spread further. The Indian Coast Guard pressed into action three of its ships and a Dornier aircraft after the Sri Lankan Navy sought assistance to control the fire onboard.
Colombo: Russian and Indian warships on Thursday joined the battle to put out a fire on a massive oil tanker off Sri Lanka’s eastern coast, the island nation's navy said. The New Diamond, with a cargo of 270,000 tonnes of crude and 1,700 tonnes of diesel, issued a distress call earlier Thursday, navy spokesman Captain Indika de Silva said. The vessel had a crew of 23 — 18 Filipinos and five Greeks. One was missing, another was injured, and the rest were rescued from the Panama-flagged vessel, according to the navy. “An Indian coast guard vessel and one of our ships are now in the process of dousing the flames that have spread to the deck of the tanker’s service area,” de Silva said. There was no immediate danger of a leak from the stricken vessel, he added, which was 60 kilometres (38 miles) from the coastal town of Sangamankandi Point. The navy spokesman said the missing crew member was a Filipino.