MT New Diamond owners settle interim claim of Rs. 442 m

• Claims for cost incurred in rescue and fire-fighting paid
• Govt. says comprehensive marine environment impact assessment could take a year

By Asiri Fernando

The owners of the troubled crude oil tanker, MT New Diamond, have settled an interim claim of Rs. 442 million for expenses borne by the Government in responding to the fire on board the vessel last month. The payments received by the Government were for the rescue and fire fighting effort undertaken by Sri Lanka, and does not include any payments for marine pollution which has occurred, Attorney General’s Coordinating Secretary State Counsel Nishara Jayaratne said yesterday. 

The Marine Environment Protection Agency (MEPA) had earlier advised the Attorney General (AG) that the oil found in the sea around the troubled tanker was ‘Bunker fuel’ that the gutted engine room of the ‘New Diamond’ is suspected to have leaked. 

A comprehensive environmental impact assessment of the tanker’s fire impact would likely take one year to complete, Head of Marine Biological Resources Division, National Aquatic Resources Research & Development Agency (NARA) Dr. Sisira Haputhanthri told Daily FT. 

“The magnitude of the impact needs to be assessed, therefore, it could take eight months to a year to complete,” Dr. Haputhathri said, pointing out that both seawater samples and marine life will need to be tested periodically. 

A group of stakeholders, including experts from universities, MEPA and NARA, are to meet this week to finalise the parameters of the impact assessment, Daily FT learned. 

“The AG will submit a claim for damages to the Sri Lankan marine ecosystem to the owners of the tanker and related entities, once the complete report is presented by the expert panel and a cost estimate is drawn up by relevant authorities,” Jayaratne said last month. 

The MT New Diamond was 38 nautical miles (70 km) off Sangamankada Point on the East Coast of Sri Lanka when the distress call was issued last month. The 20 year-old Panamanian-registered super tanker (330 m long) was carrying a consignment of 270,000 MT of crude oil for the Indian Oil Company (IOC) from a port in Kuwait to the Indian port of Paradip when the fire broke out.