Following an explosion on a ship anchored near Colombo on Tuesday, the Sri Lankan Navy said the crew members were evacuated, while fire fighters tried dousing the flames. Following an emergency request from Sri Lanka, India deployed a Dornier aircraft and vessels to augment rescue operations.
Container ship MV X-Press Pearl, sailing with a Singaporean flag and carrying cosmetics and chemicals including 25 tonnes of nitric acid, was anchored 9.5 nautical miles northwest of the Colombo Port, when a container caught fire on Friday, the Navy said in a statement.
The vessel, according to media reports, left the Hazira port in Gujarat on May 15, and was headed to Singapore via Colombo. The fire led to an onboard explosion on Tuesday. Intensified by strong winds, the flames spread to other parts of the vessel, officials said.
“India promptly responded to an emergency request by Sri Lanka Navy and deployed multiple assets to douse the fire on MV X Press Pearl off Colombo on 25 May 2021. This includes Vessels Vaibhav, Vajra and Samudra Prehari by Indian Coast Guard and Tug Water Lilly by Director General, Shipping in addition to Dornier aircraft for aerial reconnaissance,” a statement from the Indian High Commission in Colombo said.
In addition, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) formations at Kochi, Chennai and Tuticorin are on standby for immediate assistance towards pollution response. “Further, ICG aircraft are being brought to Tuticorin from Chennai and Kochi for aerial surveillance and pollution response,” ICG Spokesperson stated.
According to a Reuters report, experts from the Netherlands and Belgium were also surveying the ship. Sri Lanka’s Shipping Minister Rohitha Abeygunawardena was quoted as saying: “A special Dutch flight with vital equipment to contain the fire is now expected to reach Sri Lanka.”
In a statement, The ICG said the vessel is carrying 1486 containers of which about 8-10 containers are reported to have fallen overboard post explosion and fire. “The vessel is holding about 325 tonnes of fuel in its tanks, which is likely to pose a threat of oil spill,” it said. The ship was manned by 25 crew, including five Indians, all of whom have been evacuated, it said.
An offshore patrol vessel, ICGS Vaibhav , with external foam fire fighting and pollution response capabilities on maritime patrol, was diverted for assistance and arrived on scene of incident on Tuesday evening, it said. “Another ICG offshore patrol vessel Vajra with similar capabilities for fire fighting and pollution response has also been deployed from Tuticorin.”
In addition, ICG formations at Kochi, Chennai and Tuticorin are on standby for immediate assistance towards pollution response. “Further, ICG aircraft are being brought to Tuticorin from Chennai and Kochi for aerial surveillance and pollution response,” ICG Spokesperson stated.
In September last year, the fire on board an oil tanker off Sri Lanka’s coast was brought under control with India’s help. The Panama-registered tanker MT New Diamond, carrying several thousand tonnes of crude oil from Kuwait to India, caught fire, raising concern within Sri Lanka over a possible oil spill that was later averted.
