MT New Diamond reaches the UAE; cargo of crude to be removed

by Zulfick Farzan 09-11-2020 | 11:43 AM

Colombo (News 1st); The charred New Diamond VLCC has made its way to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after a long journey under tow across the Indian Ocean.

Images showed the vessel arriving at anchoring in Fujairah on Sunday (08) morning.

The 20-year-old tanker’s cargo of crude will be removed and shipped onward to the client, Indian Oil Corp, while the badly burnt ship is likely to be deemed too old to warrant repairs with experts suggesting it will head for demolition.

The MT New Diamond crude oil tanker was transporting 270,000 metric tons of crude oil from the port of Meena Al Ahmadi in Kuwait to the Port of Paradip in India when a fire broke out aboard in the eastern seas of Sri Lanka on 03rd September 2020 at around 0800 hrs.

The ship was sailing 38 nautical miles off Sangamankanda Point when it caught fire with an explosion in a boiler in the ship’s main engine room.

The distressed oil tanker in eastern seas was manned by 23 crew members including 5 Greeks and 18 Philippine nationals.

It was also reported that 1700 metric tons of diesel required for the use of the tanker are also stored onboard.

MT New Diamond is a 20-year old crude oil tanker that is 333 meters long and 60 meters wide, and sailed with a Japanese certificate, and is registered in Panama.

The fully laden New Shipping-controlled tanker suffered a boiler explosion a month ago, resulting in a sizeable fire centered around its accommodation block.

India and Sri Lanka deployed significant resources to douse the blaze.

Some bunker fuel spilt from the tanker last month.