Sri Lanka: One dead as firefighters battle blaze aboard Panamanian oil tanker

Sri Lankan and Indian firefighting crews are working to douse a large blaze aboard an oil tanker that has been burning since Thursday, September 3 off the coast of the small South Asian island nation.

According to CNN reports, one Filipino crew member has died after the boiler in the main engine room burst into flames causing the fire. All other persons on board, 22 in total, have been successfully rescued from the vessel that is reported to be loaded with 270,000 metric tons of crude oil. 

READ: Mauritius Oil Spill: Three Clean-up Crewmen Die As Boat Capsizes On Collision With Barge

Thick black smoke 

As per the reports, the photos and video showed thick black smoke released into the atmosphere from one corner of the Panamanian vessel MT New Diamond located 38 nautical miles (70 kilometers) off Sangamankanda Point in southern Sri Lanka. 

According to the Marine Traffic, a global shipping monitoring agency, the 20-year-old vessel was heading to the Indian port of Paradip from Ahmadi in Kuwait. Sri Lankan Navy Captain Indika Desilva was reported to have said that the fire was "still on" as of Friday morning. 

READ: Supertanker Continues To Burn Off Sri Lankan Coast, One Missing Crew Member Presumed Dead

Sri Lankan and Indian personnel are trying to douse the flames. In response to the initial distress signal from the ship, Sri Lanka dispatched four ships that picked up members of the crew who had escaped the tanker on lifeboats. Since then, the firefighting efforts have been joined by three boats from Sri Lanka, two ships from India, Indian coast guard aircraft and two Sri Lankan tug boats. In addition, two Russian anti-submarine warfare ships that were docked at Hambantota port have also joined rescue operations.

Earlier, a Sri Lankan navy spokesperson informed that the fire has not reached the cargo and no oil leakage has been reported. Sri Lankan air force has also released photos of the burning tanker that shows no visible signs of the damage to the ship itself.

This is the second oil tanker related disaster that has made headlines in recent weeks. Earlier, Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth declared a ‘state of environmental emergency’ in the island nation as a grounded Japanese vessel started to leak fuel into its waters earlier this month. The ship was is reported to have been carrying nearly 3,800 tonnes of low-sulphur fuel oil, 207 tonnes of diesel, and 90 tonnes of lube oil.  

Mauritius saw mass protests last month with tens of thousands of demonstrators taking to streets of the capital Port Louis demanding answers from the government over its delayed actions to the devasting oil spill. Public anger boiled over after reports of dozens of dead dolphins washing ashore reached the island.

READ: Flotilla From Sri Lanka, India Try To Douse Oil Tanker Fire

READ: Mauritius Oil Spill: Thousands Of People Protest In Port Louis Over Dolphin Deaths