Ship blaze: India sends fresh supplies of firefighting chemicals

COLOMBO: India has sent fresh supplies of firefighting chemicals to help battle a new blaze on a stricken tanker loaded with a massive cargo of crude oil off Sri Lanka’s eastern coast, AFP reported.

According to AFP, the Sri Lankan navy said an Indian Coast Guard aircraft was expected to bring dry chemical powder ramping up the rescue effort.

The navy said six salvage experts and 11 disaster management professionals flown in by the New Diamond’s Greek owners were taken Monday to the vessel, some 55 km off the coastal village of Sangamankanda Point.

Ships and aircraft from Sri Lanka and India intensified efforts to extinguish the new fire.

The tanker was transporting crude oil from the port of Mina Al Ahmadi in Kuwait to the Indian port of Paradip, where the Indian Oil Corp. has a refinery.

SMIT, a Dutch salvage company, said the stern was still too hot and unsafe for them to board the vessel for an inspection.

“Once the situation is deemed stable and safe, we will be able to inspect the vessel,” SMIT told AFP in The Hague.