No oil slick reported from fire-stricken New Diamond

COLOMBO: Three powerful tug boats have been deployed to keep fire-stricken oil tanker in position to ensure there was no threat to Sri Lankan coast, according to navy officials.

Apart from the Sri Lankan and Indian shores, the nearest landmass to the crippled New Diamond was nearly 1,500 km to the east at Banda Aceh in Indonesia, AFP reported.

The fire-stricken tanker was pushed further away from Sri Lanka’s coast and into deeper waters on Saturday, rescuers said, after successfully containing the blaze during a 36-hour operation.

According to AFP, the Indian Coast Guard and the Sri Lankan navy said the 330-meter vessel was towed to deeper waters some 75 km away from the coast.

“There is no oil slick reported,” the Indian Coast Guard said as a joint effort by the two countries to prevent the tanker drifting closer to the island continued.

The Panamanian-registered New Diamond carrying 270,000 tons of crude had earlier drifted dangerously close to the eastern shores of Sri Lanka since issuing a distress message on Thursday morning.