An international firefighting effort is on to douse fire on an oil container off Sri Lankan coast. The country's navy on Thursday said that it may take 'days' to completely douse the fire. There are fears of a major oil leak.

Nine Sri Lankan ships and three Indian vessels have been working with international salvage experts to douse the eight-day-old inferno on the Singapore-registered X-Press Pearl. The crew of 25 persons has been evacuated.

Fire on the ship broke out when it was waiting to end the Colombo port. The vessel was carrying nearly 1,500 containers including 25 tonnes of nitric acid.

It is believed that the fire was sparked by a leak of nitric acid on the 186 metre (610 feet) long ship. Monsoon winds fanned the flames.

But easing winds in the Indian Ocean will make firefighting efforts easier, Sri Lanka navy chief Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne said, describing the sea and wind conditions as "favourable".

"I hope in another few days we can extinguish this fire completely," he told AFP.

Sri Lanka's Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) has expressed fears that the vessel could break up and leak oil onto coastal beaches.

"The hull may not be stable for us to tow the ship away from our waters," MEPA chairman Dharshani Lahandapura told AFP.

The vessel is now anchored. It is carrying 278 tonnes of bunker oil and 50 tonnes of marine gas oil, she said.

Avoidable disaster

Lahandapura said the crew of the ship knew about a nitric acid leak on May 11 before entering Sri Lankan waters. She said if the crew had acted properly, the fire could have been avoided.

The ship's operator, X-Press Feeders of Singapore, confirmed they knew about the acid leak, but said attempts to leave the leaking container in India and Qatar had failed.

It said port authorities in the two countries had rejected requests because they did not have specialist facilities.

Sri Lankan authorities have lodged a formal complaint with police ahead of initiating legal action against the ship's captain.

Lahandapura said a large quantity of oil threatens to leak and pollute the tourist and fishing region of Negombo, 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of the capital.

"Our best option is to clean the beach and we suspect any clearing operation will take a few weeks, if not months," she said.

Sri Lankan soldiers were deployed Thursday to clean Negombo beach as debris from eight containers that fell into the sea after the explosion washed ashore.

Police also arrested eight people who had been scavenging for plastic raw materials and cosmetics that washed up for violating coronavirus lockdown regulations.

In September last year, an oil tanker caught fire off Sri Lanka's east coast after an engine room explosion that killed one crew member.

The fire on the New Diamond tanker took more than a week to put out and left a 40 kilometre (25 mile) long oil spill. Sri Lanka has demanded the owners pay a $17 million clean-up bill.

(With inputs from agencies)

An international firefighting effort is on to douse fire on an oil container off Sri Lankan coast. The country's navy on Thursday said that it may take 'days' to completely douse the fire.

An international firefighting effort is on to douse fire on an oil container off Sri Lankan coast. The country's navy on Thursday said that it may take 'days' to completely douse the fire. There are fears of a major oil leak. Nine Sri Lankan ships and three Indian vessels have been working with international salvage experts to douse the eight-day-old inferno on the Singapore-registered X-Press Pearl. The crew of 25 persons has been evacuated. Fire on the ship broke out when it was waiting to end the Colombo port. The vessel was carrying nearly 1,500 containers including 25 tonnes of nitric acid. It is believed that the fire was sparked by a leak of nitric acid on the 186 metre (610 feet) long ship. Monsoon winds fanned the flames. But easing winds in the Indian Ocean will make firefighting efforts easier, Sri Lanka navy chief Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne said, describing the sea and wind conditions as "favourable". "I hope in another few days we can extinguish this fire completely," he told AFP. Sri Lanka's Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) has expressed fears that the vessel could break up and leak oil onto coastal beaches. "The hull may not be stable for us to tow the ship away from our waters," MEPA chairman Dharshani Lahandapura told AFP. The vessel is now anchored. It is carrying 278 tonnes of bunker oil and 50 tonnes of marine gas oil, she said. Avoidable disaster Lahandapura said the crew of the ship knew about a nitric acid leak on May 11 before entering Sri Lankan waters. She said if the crew had acted properly, the fire could have been avoided. The ship's operator, X-Press Feeders of Singapore, confirmed they knew about the acid leak, but said attempts to leave the leaking container in India and Qatar had failed. It said port authorities in the two countries had rejected requests because they did not have specialist facilities. Sri Lankan authorities have lodged a formal complaint with police ahead of initiating legal action against the ship's captain. Lahandapura said a large quantity of oil threatens to leak and pollute the tourist and fishing region of Negombo, 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of the capital. "Our best option is to clean the beach and we suspect any clearing operation will take a few weeks, if not months," she said. Sri Lankan soldiers were deployed Thursday to clean Negombo beach as debris from eight containers that fell into the sea after the explosion washed ashore. Police also arrested eight people who had been scavenging for plastic raw materials and cosmetics that washed up for violating coronavirus lockdown regulations. In September last year, an oil tanker caught fire off Sri Lanka's east coast after an engine room explosion that killed one crew member. The fire on the New Diamond tanker took more than a week to put out and left a 40 kilometre (25 mile) long oil spill. Sri Lanka has demanded the owners pay a $17 million clean-up bill. (With inputs from agencies)

Firefighting on ship off Sri Lankan coast can take 'days', says navy chief

The fully-loaded vessel is still in Sri Lankan waters, although the fire was completely doused last week.

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An oil tanker off the coast of Sri Lanka caught fire last week. The blaze has been put out, but now the tanker is leaking diesel.

Gravitas: Burning oil tanker leaks diesel off Sri Lanka's coast

An oil tanker burned out of control raising fears of oil spill in Indian Ocean. The ship was carrying 270,000 tonnes of crude from Kuwait to India when the engine room exploded on Thursday killing one crew member. The other 22 out of 23 crew members have been safely rescued whereas 1 died.

New oil spill fear in Indian Ocean due to fire in Sri Lanka oil tanker

Somali pirates released a hijacked oil tanker and its eight Sri Lankan crew on Thursday, a Somali security official and the pirates said, bringing the first hijacking since 2012 to an unusually swift conclusion without the payment of a ransom.

The release followed a gunfight earlier in the day between the pirates and the marine force, and then intensive negotiations between the marine force, clan elders and the pirates.

&quot;There has been discussion going on after the gunfight of this afternoon ... We pulled our forces back and so the pirates went away,&quot; said Abdirahman Mohamud Hassan, the director general of the maritime police force for Somalia&#39;s semi-autonomous northern region of Puntland.

A pirate confirmed the release was made without a ransom payment. In previous hijackings, many crews remained in captivity for years before a ransom was paid. Eight Iranians are still being held.

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But the pirates said they agreed to forego a ransom after learning that Somali businessmen had hired the ship, which was taking oil from Djibouti to the Somali capital of Mogadishu. Pirates have traditionally been wary of tangling with Somalia&#39;s powerful businessmen.

&quot;After we came to know that the Somali traders hired the oil tanker, we released it without a ransom,&quot; pirate Abdullahi told Reuters.

The release will be seen as a success for the regional Puntland government and its counter-piracy force, which is funded by the United Arab Emirates.

The hijacking was the first time Somali pirates have taken over a commercial ship since 2012 and followed an outpouring of anger by locals over foreign fishermen flooding into their waters. The Somalis are also angry with their government for licensing some of the ships.

The vessel was hijacked on Monday. Residents living near where it was being held said four civilians were injured by stray bullets during Thursday&#39;s gunbattle.

In their heyday in 2011, Somali pirates launched 237 attacks off the coast of Somalia, data from the International Maritime Bureau showed, and held hundreds of hostages.

But attacks fell sharply after crews put safety measures into place and regional naval forces stepped up patrols. Some pirates returned to fishing, and others became involved in smuggling people and weapons across the Red Sea to Yemen.&nbsp;

(Reuters)

The pirates said they agreed to forego a ransom after learning that Somali businessmen had hired the ship

Somali pirates released a hijacked oil tanker and its eight Sri Lankan crew on Thursday, a Somali security official and the pirates said, bringing the first hijacking since 2012 to an unusually swift conclusion without the payment of a ransom. The release followed a gunfight earlier in the day between the pirates and the marine force, and then intensive negotiations between the marine force, clan elders and the pirates. "There has been discussion going on after the gunfight of this afternoon ... We pulled our forces back and so the pirates went away," said Abdirahman Mohamud Hassan, the director general of the maritime police force for Somalia's semi-autonomous northern region of Puntland. A pirate confirmed the release was made without a ransom payment. In previous hijackings, many crews remained in captivity for years before a ransom was paid. Eight Iranians are still being held. Pirates have traditionally been wary of tangling with Somalia's powerful businessmen × But the pirates said they agreed to forego a ransom after learning that Somali businessmen had hired the ship, which was taking oil from Djibouti to the Somali capital of Mogadishu. Pirates have traditionally been wary of tangling with Somalia's powerful businessmen. "After we came to know that the Somali traders hired the oil tanker, we released it without a ransom," pirate Abdullahi told Reuters. The release will be seen as a success for the regional Puntland government and its counter-piracy force, which is funded by the United Arab Emirates. The hijacking was the first time Somali pirates have taken over a commercial ship since 2012 and followed an outpouring of anger by locals over foreign fishermen flooding into their waters. The Somalis are also angry with their government for licensing some of the ships. The vessel was hijacked on Monday. Residents living near where it was being held said four civilians were injured by stray bullets during Thursday's gunbattle. In their heyday in 2011, Somali pirates launched 237 attacks off the coast of Somalia, data from the International Maritime Bureau showed, and held hundreds of hostages. But attacks fell sharply after crews put safety measures into place and regional naval forces stepped up patrols. Some pirates returned to fishing, and others became involved in smuggling people and weapons across the Red Sea to Yemen. (Reuters)

Somali pirates release tanker, 8 Lankan crew without ransom