Negligence, pollution charges against New Diamond captain

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka will file negligence and pollution charges against the Greek skipper of an oil tanker that leaked fuel off the nation’s coast after a week-long fire, AFP reported.

“There is sufficient evidence to prosecute the skipper under the marine pollution act as well as the penal code for criminal negligence,” AFP quoted a spokeswoman for Attorney-General Dappula de Livera as saying in Colombo.

Some of the 1,700 tons of heavy fuel oil aboard the New Diamond poured into the Indian Ocean, prompting a large effort to contain a slick that was roughly 2km in length.

Its 270,000-ton cargo of crude oil was unaffected by the fire.

Sri Lanka’s environmental authorities fear a marine disaster if the tanker is allowed to transfer its oil to another ship in the country’s waters, according to the report.

Much of the slick has been cleaned up and no further fuel has leaked from the vessel since Friday. For now, there are no signs of the slick reaching the coast.