Skip to main content
Open this photo in gallery:

Smoke rises after a fire broke out on a Panama-registered oil tanker about 70 kilometers east of Sri Lanka on Sept. 3, 2020. Fresh flames were seen rising from the tanker on Monday.The Canadian Press

Fire fighters are again battling flames aboard a fully loaded oil supertanker off Sri Lanka, the island’s nation’s navy said on Monday, four days after fire first broke out on the New Diamond.

“Fresh flames have risen in the funnel section of the MT New Diamond Supertanker and fire fighters are battling the fire using foam to contain the blaze,” said the Navy spokesman Captain Indika de Silva, adding that the fire had not reached the oil cargo of around 2 million barrels.

A fire first broke out last Thursday in the engine room and spread to the bridge of the very large crude carrier, chartered by Indian Oil Corp for importing oil from Kuwait. That blaze was doused on Sunday.

Tugs had been spraying water onto the ship on Monday to keep the metal cool, but high winds ignited the flames once again, de Silva said.

“We are spraying water on to the ship to keep it cool as there are several small fires still burning,” he said.

Several tugboats surrounding the Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) are keeping it about 30 nautical miles, or about 58 km, east of Sangaman point - Sri Lanka’s easternmost point in the Ampara district.

The supertanker is adrift and has to be held in position by the tugboats.

Salvage operations are expected to begin shortly, but “the ship will be allowed to be moved out of Sri Lankan waters only with our permission”, de Silva said.

Be smart with your money. Get the latest investing insights delivered right to your inbox three times a week, with the Globe Investor newsletter. Sign up today.

Follow related authors and topics

Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Interact with The Globe