Ships and aircraft from Sri Lanka and India on Tuesday battled to contain a re-ignited fire on board a giant oil tanker that went up in flames last week off Sri Lanka’s eastern waters while carrying crude oil from Kuwait to India.

In a
statement, the Sri Lankan Navy confirmed that the re-ignited fire onboard the
VLCC crude oil carrier, the MT New Diamond, which was carrying nearly two
million barrels of crude oil, had been contained to an extent, PTI reported.

Also Read: Efforts to control fire aboard oil tanker continue, no oil spill reported: Indian Coast Guard

One Filipino
crew member died while another was injured in the fire aboard the Panama-registered
oil tanker. The fire had completely extinguished by Sunday although, extreme
heat conditions led to a new fire breaking out on Monday, the Navy said. 

“There is
no risk of the fire spreading to the oil storage or leaking oil from the ship
into the sea as of now,” the statement said.

The Navy
said that ships, aircraft and tugs from the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard,
Sri Lanka Navy and Sri Lanka Air Force were continuing their efforts to curb
the fire.

At least 11
disaster management professionals, sent by the company that acts as the technical
and commercial operator of New Diamond, have arrived at the location to support
the ongoing efforts, the Navy added.

Also Read: India, Sri Lanka continues to salvage burning oil tanker off Sri Lanka, experts join

At least nine
ships, five tugs and aircraft are part of the operation to avert a crisis about
30 nautical miles off the coast of Ampara.

A research
team consisting of experts from the National Aquatic Resources Research and
Development Agency (NARA), Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) and
University of Ruhuna arrived at the site to inspect if any damage had been
caused to the marine biodiversity die to the disaster.

The Indian
Oil-chartered tanker was transporting crude oil from the port of Mina Al Ahmadi
in Kuwait to the port of Paradip in India.