New Diamond owner must pay Sri Lanka $1.84 mln
The owners of the New Diamond supertanker which caught fire with a cargo of two million barrels of oil aboard have agreed to pay 340 million rupees ($1.84 million) to Sri Lanka for its help in extinguishing the blaze and averting disaster.
The interim claim is for services provided by the Sri Lankan Navy, Air Force, Ports Authority and Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) after the fire on September 3 until September 15, said Nishara Jayaratne, coordination officer of Sri Lanka’s attorney general.
Insurers of the vessel West of England will settle the bill, MEPA Chairperson Dharshani Lahandapura said.
The New Diamond, loaded with Kuwaiti oil, is chartered by Indian Oil Corp and is currently 66 nautical miles (122 kilometers) from Batticaloa on Sri Lanka’s east coast.
The captain has not been allowed to leave the country as he is going through legal proceedings, Lahandapura said.
Greece-based Porto Emporios Shipping Inc is the registered owner of the 20-year old Panama-flagged very large crude carrier, Refinitiv data showed.
[Reuters]
