Salvage Team board the distressed MT New Diamond Crude Oil Tanker (VIDEO)

Colombo (News 1st); A three-man salvage expert team boarded the distressed Crude Oil Tanker, MT New Diamond on Wednesday (09) morning, said the Sri Lanka Navy.

Speaking to News 1st Sri Lanka Navy Spokesperson Captain Indika De Silva said the distressed ship was towed further away towards safe waters by a tug and is now about 41 nautical miles off Sangamankanda Point.

There are no flames or smoke to be noticed from the distressed ship, said the Sri Lanka Navy Spokesperson.

Disaster management teams successfully brought the fire, which reignited aboard MT New Diamond as a result of adverse weather, under control during the early hours on Wednesday (09th September 2020).

Further, a narrow diesel oil patch extending to one kilometer away from the ship was observed on Tuesday (08) evening.

In such circumstances, a Dornier aircraft of the Indian Coast Guard was flown to the site to airdrop diesel dispersant to minimize the potential impact on the marine environment.

Meanwhile, the disaster management operation is continuing with the unwavering contribution of ships, tugs and aircraft hurried by the Sri Lanka Navy and the rest of the partners in the mission.

Sri Lanka Air Force said the situation on board the MT New Diamond Oil Tanker as at 0730 Hrs on 9th September 2020 showed the fire and smoke which was clearly visible from the air had subsided.

To date, SLAF has conducted 176 flying missions and dropped 440,000 liters of water on to the blazing tanker.

In addition, SLAF helicopters also dropped a total of 4,500 Kg’s Dry Chemical Powder on to vital areas of the tanker.

During the 7 days of this operation, a Beech King B200 aircraft from the No 3 Maritime Squadron, MI-17 Helicopters from the No 6 Helicopter Squadron, Bell 212 Helicopters from the No 7 Squadron, and Y-12 aircraft from the No 8 Light Transport Squadron have conducted 176 flying operations spanning over 100 flying hours.

It must be mentioned that these daring flying operations were carried out amidst extreme adverse weather conditions and special mention should be made on the dropping of Dry Chemical Powder which was done at very low altitudes in order to achieve precise drops on vital areas of the tanker.

This is the first and only occasion to date where SLAF helicopters have dropped DCP on to a blazing tanker.