Authorities instructed to take measures to prevent damages from blazing oil tanker

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has instructed the relevant officials take maximum measures to prevent the possible damages to the marine environment from the distressed oil tanker “MT New Diamond” which was engulfed in fire on Thursday (03).

As the Minister of Urban Development & Housing, the Premier has given orders to launch a 24-hour join operation to mitigate the damages that can be caused by the fire raging in the Panama-flagged oil tanker.

He has also instructed the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA), which falls under the Urban Development and Housing Ministry, to take all necessary steps in this regard.

Accordingly, with the initial intervention of the MEPA, under the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing, 15 institutions including the Department of Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management, Sri Lanka Navy, Sri Lanka Air Force, Sri Lanka Ports Authority, Central Environmental Authority, Department of Fisheries, Disaster Management Centre, Department of Meteorology, Department of Wildlife Conservation and Ceylon Petroleum Corporation are engaged in mitigating the damages.

At around 8.30 am yesterday, the oil tanker had been sailing 38 nautical miles off Sangamankanda Point east of Sri Lankan seas, when an explosion of a boiler in the main engine room occurred.

The tanker was transporting 270,000 metric tons of crude oil from the port of Mina Al Ahmadi in Kuwait to the Indian port of Paradip, when it faced with this unfortunate turn of events. It is also reported that 1700 metric tons of diesel required for the use of the tanker have been stored onboard.