(UTV | COLOMBO) – British and Dutch experts arrived in Sri Lanka to assist MT New Diamond, the oil tanker which caught fire off Sri Lankan shores.
The Sri Lanka Navy said that the 10 experts arrived at the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) at 6.45 this morning (06).
The fire in the ship has now been brought under control and it is presently located 40 nautical miles off Sri Lanka.
The Navy said that efforts to completely extinguish the fire on the ship were still ongoing.
Meanwhile, the Indian Coast Guard said that a pollution control vessel ‘Samudra Paheredar’ joined the operations today to extinguish the fire.
Equipped with Ocean boom, 04 Oil skimmers, Oil Spill Dispersant, the vessel will be a major boost to efforts to extinguish the fire.
The joint disaster relief operation, which is being carried out on the instruction of experts, has so far successfully contained the spread of the ship’s fire and there is no report of the ship leaking oil into the sea.
