COLOMBO – India on Tuesday (25) dispatched a fleet of coast guard vessels and a maritime reconnaissance aircraft to help Sri Lanka fight a fire in the Singapore flagged vessel, MV X-Press Pearl, that is ablaze off the island’s coast and contain the resultant oil spill.
A statement from the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka said the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) had made an emergency request at 12 noon on Tuesday for fire-fighting as well as pollution control and that India had promptly responded deploying multiple assets including Vessels Vaibhav, Vajra and Samudra Prehari by Indian Coast Guard and Tug Water Lilly by Director General, Shipping in addition to Dornier aircraft for aerial reconnaissance.
It noted that immediately upon receiving the SLN request, relevant authorities in India were alerted and assets were deployed expeditiously, with the Dornier aircraft reaching Colombo at around 4:00 p.m. Tuesday and the first Vessel at around 7:00 p.m.
The statement also noted that India has the tradition of being the first responder during crises in Sri Lanka and recalled that a potentially huge oil spill was averted with assistance from India after MT New Diamond with 200,000 metric tons crude oil on board caught fire off the country’s Eastern Coast in September 2020. Three Indian Naval Ships also rushed with assistance following the floods in Sri Lanka in May 2017.
-ENCL