The fire onboard the crude carrier MT New Diamond has been doused as per a release by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG). The ship is being held by Tug TTT1 in position about 30 miles from the nearest coast of Srilanka.
“The fire which re-ignited late in the evening on 07 Sep 20 increased drastically by midnight, with very high flames emanating from funnel and aft section, reaching almost 50-60 m from weather deck. The sustained firefighting efforts by ICG Ships including ICGS Sujay, ICGS Shaurya, ICGS Sarang and specialised ICG Pollution Response Vessel ICGS Samudra Paheredar along with Srilankan Ships and tugs ensured the intensity and magnitude of the fire was reduced considerably by daybreak on 08Sep 20. The master of MT New Diamond, onboard ICGS Shaurya has intimated ICG PM 08 Sep that the fire appears to have been doused. The situation is being monitored closely and boundary cooling with seawater and application of foam has been enhanced to avoid re-ignition,” states the ICG release.
The persistence of fire for the eighth day has weakened the accommodation superstructure. No significant list is observed. Vessel is trimmed by aft by about 3 feet.
A 16 member salvage team including Marine Chemist and Naval Architect are onboard Tugs ALP Winger and TTT1.
The Indian Coast Guard is the competent National Authority under South Asian Co-operative for Environment Protection (SACEP) for responding and coordinating pollution response in South Asian Sea region. A bilateral MoU also exists between ICG and Sri Lanka Coast Guard covering co-operation in the Marine pollution Response domain.