Blaze-hit oil tanker on way to UAE for repairs

CHENNAI: The Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) will have to wait longer to get its consignment of three lakh metric tonnes of crude oil from the blaze-hit Panamanian oil tanker MT New Diamond as the vessel is being towed to Fujairah port in the United Arab Emirates for repairs. 

The Indian Coast Guard said the vessel, chartered by the IOCL, is being towed with the help of salvors under its watchful eyes as a precautionary measure to prevent any untoward incident, particularly the spill of oil. A fire had erupted in the tanker following a major explosion in its engine room on  September 3. The 20-year-old vessel was carrying Kuwaiti crude oil from Mina al Ahmadi to Paradip in Odisha.

An Indian Coast Guard spokesman told Express that its pollution control vessels Samudra Pavak and Samudra Praheri with integral helicopter and ICGS  Shaunak with pollution-response gears will be escorting the MT New Diamond. “ICG ships will provide preventive pollution response cover in case of any oil leakage contingency during the passage of the vessel to Fujairah,” the spokesman said.

It is  learnt that the coast guard is taking precaution so that Indian shores are safe in case of any oil spill. The vessel is being taken to Fujairah, a deep-water port, as its liquid cargo can’t be pumped out in the open sea. The decision taken by the ship owners and salvors, said coast guard sources. 

This comes after Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and S Jaishankar last month reviewed the condition of the vessel and discussed ways to expedite arrangements for the discharge of crude from the vessel. The IOCL has its biggest refinery with 3,00,000 barrels per day capacity at Paradip. With a combined refining capacity of almost 5 million barrels per day, India is the world’s fourth largest refining centre after the US, China and Russia.