New Fire Erupts Aboard Tanker Off Coast of Sri Lanka

Firefighters battling an engine room fire aboard a disabled crude carrier loaded with two million barrels of oil extinguished the blaze Sunday only to have it reignite at a new location, local media report.

New Diamond, a Panamanian registered supertanker measuring 330 meters in length, has been adrift about 40 miles off the east coast of Sri Lanka since Thursday when the fire broke out.

The engine room fire eventually spread to the carrier’s bridge before being put out. However, new flames burst to life Monday on the right side of the vessel near its rear funnel.

Those flames were not an immediate threat to the cargo, the Sri Lankan Navy states.

The tanker was chartered by the Indian Oil Corporation, traveling from Kuwait to the Indian port of Paradip. It was scheduled to arrive Friday.