IOC chartered fully laden VLCC again on fire; Navy, Coast Guard in salvage operations

Singapore — Fire has reignited on the fully laden Indian Oil Corp., or IOC, chartered super tanker and operations are currently on to salvage the cargo and prevent an oil spill, Indian and Sri Lankan navy spokespersons said Sept. 8.

"The fire had been doused on Sunday but reignited last evening," the Indian Navy spokesperson said over the phone.

The ship is now 28 nautical miles off the nearest land point in Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan navy spokesperson said. The fire had been put off but unburnt fuel along with any other combustible material onboard and intensity of heat on the ship could have possibly reignited it, the Sri Lankan spokesperson said.

The reignited fire is not in the engine room but behind the superstructure, he said adding that the current intensity is now much lesser and the billowing out smoke has reduced compared with last evening.

According to the Indian navy, re-ignition of fire was observed on the right starboard side of the New Diamond. Fire-fighting and boundary cooling efforts have been intensified to bring the blaze under control, it said.

The ship had caught fire on Sept. 3, and was doused with tremendous difficulty only 79 hours later, after relentless efforts of Indian and Sri Lankan navies and coast guards which pressed multiple ships and aircraft into service. If the cargo catches fire, it can result into a major ecological disaster but the authorities said so far it is safe.

The New Shipping-controlled 20 year old VLCC was carrying around 260,000 mt Kuwaiti crude on the Mina al Ahmadi-Paradip route.

There is a crack of about 2 m at the rear of the VLCC's port side 10 m above the waterline, sources said. They said the tragedy has once again brought to fore the maritime debate over chartering very old ships and providing them regulatory approvals for sailing.

Globally, 15 years for super tankers is a critical threshold after which getting regulatory approvals for such ones is difficult due to stringent international laws of the seas.

Many oil companies across the globe do not charter tankers that are more than 15 years old due to safety concerns and at times they are unable to clear vetting at load and discharge ports. However, several refiners do not hesitate to take such ships if they are able to get port clearances, as they are available at a discount over the prevailing freight.

Both cargo prices and freight are subdued at present due to demand destruction caused by the coronavirus pandemic, significantly reducing the freight discount these old tankers enjoy over approved ships.

IOC and New Shipping executives could not be immediately reached for comment.