A race against time to extinguish the fire on MT New Diamond

Fears have increased for the third day in a row about the possibility of a large-scale oil spill in the Indian Ocean following the fire on the oil tanker flying the Panama flag off the coast of Sri Lanka, after an accident that polluted the coast of Mauritius in August.

According to "Reuters", Indian warships and the Sri Lankan navy continue to work to extinguish the fire on the "MT New Diamond" oil tanker, as the tanker carrying 270 thousand tons of crude and 1700 tons of diesel made a distress call, Thursday, after an explosion in the engine room.

A Sri Lankan military helicopter threw water on it, and Indian navy ships headed towards the burning tanker. The Maldives, located about a thousand kilometres southwest of Sri Lanka, expressed concern about the possibility of an oil spill. The Indian Coast Guard reported that there was a crack in the "MT New Diamond" structure at a height of two meters from the water level. However, the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Center indicated that there was no imminent risk of an oil spill.

"The matter is not as bad as it seems. The fire did not reach the cargo, and as soon as the fire is extinguished, the ship will be pulled into deep waters," said Sodantha Ranasinghe, head of the center, indicating that the authorities are considering reloading the cargo.

In a statement, the Sri Lankan Navy confirmed that a Filipino sailor was killed in the explosion, and the ship's remaining 22 crew members, 17 Filipinos and five Greeks, were evacuated by helicopter.

One of the ship’s commanding officials, who is also a Filipino, was seriously injured and taken to the Kalomnae District Hospital, 360 kilometres east of the capital Colombo, and his condition is stable, according to the Sri Lankan Navy spokesman.

The "MT New Diamond", which is classified as a very large oil tanker with a length of 330 meters, was located 60 kilometres east of the coast of Sri Lanka when it issued a distress call, as the fire intensified, drifted during the night for a distance of ten kilometres, approaching the Sri Lankan coast, where the authorities quickly sent Reconnaissance aircraft to follow the ship.

And the "MT New Diamond", which was traveling from Kuwait to the Indian port of Paradeep, is about 30 meters longer than the Japanese cargo ship "MV Wakashio", which ran aground at the end of July after colliding with a coral reef off the coast of Mauritius.

After three weeks, the ship split in two, after a race against time to empty what was left of it. Meanwhile, MV Wakashio leaked at least 1,000 tons of fuel, which caused pollution to the coasts, especially the protected areas with coastal deer forests and endangered species, and the clear waters that are frequented by tourists.

The Maldives has expressed concerns about a possible oil spill from the "MT New Diamond", which could cause serious damage to the environment, and this archipelago of 1192 atolls depends on fishing and tourism.

Ahmed Naseem, minister in the office of the President of the Maldives, called for precautionary measures to be taken for his country, saying in a tweet on "Twitter" that the oil spill "may cause a major disaster."