- International experts to carry out full impact assessment
By Sarah Hannan
The full impact of the MT New Diamond crude oil tanker fire is yet to be assessed, as all hands were on deck to douse the fire that was erupting from time to time since 3 September.
Yesterday (6) at 3.30 p.m., Sri Lanka Navy Commander Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne stated that the fire on board the oil tanker was completely doused.
In the meantime, the Attorney General (AG) held a meeting yesterday in order to understand the issues pertaining to the said accident aboard the MT New Diamond. This was following the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) lodging a complaint with the Sri Lanka Police nominating the ship’s owning company, the captain, and the crew for the potential danger the accident would cause to the marine life within Sri Lanka’s territorial waters and the possible pollution it would cause should an oil spill occur.
The meeting with the AG was attended by Ulugetenne, Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Director General Merchant Shipping A.W. Seneviratne, and MEPA Chairperson Dharshani Lahandapura.
International experts arrive
New Shipping Ltd., the commercial owner of New Diamond in Athens, Greece, appointed SMIT Singapore Pte. Ltd., an international Singapore-based company, as its salvage expert. The company is currently sending equipment and experts in crude oil disaster management to MT New Diamond to commence the salvage operation, it was reported yesterday.
The TTT One firefighting vessel sailing under the flag of Palau was at the distressed vessel yesterday, and has a team including a salvage chief who can deal with such disasters.
Meanwhile, two more large tugboats that can handle crude oil tankers were to join TTT One and those two tugs had already left Singapore and Mauritius yesterday.
Furthermore, SMIT Singapore Pte. Ltd. took steps to inform the Sri Lanka Navy about the persons and goods being brought in, and the Sri Lanka Navy is ready to assist in this regard.
Furthermore, 10 British and Netherlands professionals with expertise in rescue operations, disaster evaluation, and legal consultation were scheduled to arrive in the island on Saturday (5) morning and are expected to make recommendations as to how future events are to be planned, upon inspection of the disaster management work on the MT New Diamond.
Apart from that, a team headed by the Chief Firefighting Officer of the SLPA was scheduled to visit the distressed oil tanker yesterday (6).
SLAF first to respond
The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) responded to a distress signal received from the MT New Diamond sailing 38 nautical miles off Sangamankanda Point east of Sri Lanka on 3 September by promptly dispatching a Beechcraft King Air B200 aircraft from their No. 3 Maritime Squadron located at the SLAF Academy in China Bay. The SLAF Beechcraft was the first to get to the location and provide live situational updates on the situation to the Sri Lanka Navy and other stakeholders.
In addition to the Beechcraft, an SLAF MI-17 helicopter was deployed to conduct “Bambi Bucket” operations. The “Bambi Bucket” operation was conducted continuously until Friday (4) evening. The SLAF Beechcraft continued aerial surveillance of the situation.
SL Navy continued to mitigate fire
At least 11 tugboats were deployed to pull the crude oil tanker away to prevent the ship entering the territorial waters of Sri Lanka.
During Saturday night, despite rough seas and strong winds, the disaster management operation continued. Meanwhile, arrangements were made to continue the operation to mitigate the outcomes of this disaster through co-ordinated effort.
For the first time since the accident, the Sri Lanka Navy provided the opportunity for the 20 crew members who were rescued from the distressed vessel and now safely on board the SLNS Sindurala, to connect with their near and dear ones by telephone.
In the meantime, three capital ships of the Sri Lanka Navy, five ships of the Indian Coast Guard, one ship belonging to the Indian Navy, two tugs – Wasaba and Rawana – of the Hambantota International Port Group, the Tug ALP Winger, the Tug TTT One with firefighting equipment and professionals, and the Tug Ocean Bliss were engaged in firefighting efforts. In addition, three Sri Lanka Navy FACs and two ships belonging to the Sri Lanka Coast Guard were deployed as supply vessels for the operation.
Moreover, a Dornier aircraft of the Indian Coast Guard was scheduled to take off from the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport yesterday and monitor the sea area where the distressed oil tanker was placed.
The joint disaster relief operation, which is being carried out on the instruction of experts, successfully contained the spread of the ship's fire as at last evening, and there is no report of the ship leaking oil into the sea.
Indian Coast Guard steps in
The Indian Coast Guard deployed its ships and aircraft for a search and rescue (SAR) and firefighting mission, approximately 37 nautical miles east of Tirukkovil (southeast Sri Lankan coast) to save the 23-merchant crew onboard the MT New Diamond.
The Indian Coast Guard received intimation of the fire and an explosion on board the MT New Diamond and the Sri Lanka Navy sought its assistance particularly in light of a likely oil spill. The vessel is reportedly carrying around 300,000 tonnes of crude oil (Kuwait export).
The Indian Coast Guard diverted its patrol ships – Shaurya and Sarang – for firefighting and other assistance to the distressed vessel. The Indian Coast Guard’s ship Sujay with helo and divers was also dispatched from Chennai. Furthermore, the Indian Coast Guard’s pollution response vessel Samudra Paheredar sailed out from Visakhapatnam for the oil spill response. The CG Dornier was deployed from Chennai for aerial recce.
The Indian Coast Guard formations were also alerted for immediate assistance towards pollution response.
The Indian Coast Guard stated that it is in constant communication and co-ordinating with Sri Lankan authorities for the operation.
Govt. ready to manage oil spill if happens
On Friday, the Government of Sri Lanka, at a press briefing held at the Department of Government Information with the participation of all stakeholders involved in the mitigation operations, noted that they are on standby to manage a possible oil spill, and have reached out to regional entities for support if necessary.
Sri Lanka Navy Director General (Operations) Rear Admiral Y.N. Jayarathna, addressing the media at the Government Information Department on Friday, stated: “We are vigilant on the situation and our first priority is to control the fire. After following safety procedures, the ship will be handed over to the owner for removal process.”
According to Jayarathna, the fire broke out in the ship's engine room and spread to the ship's administrative compartment, while the portion that contained the ship's crude oil was safe.
“Crude oil transporting ships are watertight and double-hulled and therefore (the) damage to crude oil (storage areas) is minimum,” he said, adding that the Sri Lanka Navy is trying to keep this area cool by pumping water regularly with SLAF helicopter support.
He said looking at the prevailing situation of the tanker, there was no risk of an oil spill in Sri Lankan waters as the ship was 20 metres deep and 22 nautical miles away.
“Due to the nature of (the) prevailing sea currents, it (MT Diamond) has a tendency to move slowly southwards, parallel to the coast. We are in the process of dowsing with the support of three Sri Lanka Navy capital ships, one Indian Coast Guard ship, and an Indian Navy capital ship. Meanwhile, three tugboats capable of handling large ships in Sri Lanka were added to the effort, while another tugboat is to arrive to support extinguishing fire on the tanker,” he said on Friday.
“We intend to control the fire and evacuate the ship safely. We also seek assistance from another Indian Coast Guard expert,” he said at the time.
He confirmed that there were 23 people on board in the 20-year-old ship with a Japanese certificate, and 19 of the crew were safe.
“One person has been hospitalised with severe burn injuries. He is now in a safe condition. However, one person in the engine room had been injured in the crash and his survival could not be expected,” he said, adding that the Sri Lanka Navy had informed all regional areas and other countries, which pledged their support.
Meanwhile, those who were in the ship were taken to another ship and the oil tanker is now floating southwards.
SLAF Director (Operations) Air Vice Marshal Ravi Jayasinghe said the SLAF had so far used over 100,000 litres of water on the ship while employing reconnaissance aircraft and MI 17 and Bell 212 helicopters to control the fire since 3 September.
MEPA Chairperson Lahandapura said that the MEPA was ready to resort to legal action against the owner of the ship and get compensation for the damage caused to the environment and fishing community in the case of an oil spill.
“We are developing a contingency plan, with the support of the DMC (Disaster Management Centre) and other organisations like the Coast Guard, Police, and Sri Lanka Navy to combat (an) oil spill if (it) occurs,” stated Lahandapura.