Navy plugs leak on New Diamond oil tanker

The Sri Lankan navy had sealed an inlet on the fire-stricken New Diamond oil tanker that was leaking fuel oil and sparking fears of an environmental disaster.

A team of divers that inspected the rear of the tanker, which caught fire last week, found a seawater inlet leaking a mix of fuel oil and seawater, the Navy said.

"Navy divers launched a search of the MT New Diamond's ship and they observed that the internal piping system connected to two seawater inlets had been damaged. Accordingly, they took immediate action to completely seal the inlet," the Navy said.

The tanker was transporting 270,000 metric tons of crude oil from the port of Mina Al Ahmadi in Kuwait to the Indian port of Paradip.

Meanwhile, a team of CID officers has been deployed to obtain a statement from the captain and crew of the MT New Diamond.

Sources said that the relevant team of officers left for Galle yesterday.