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2020-09-03 · Indian Ocean, ~38nm off eastern Sri Lanka · VLCC crude tanker · Panama flag
The Panama-flagged VLCC New Diamond, laden with ~270,000 tonnes of Kuwait crude, suffered an engine-room explosion + fire at 07:40 on 3 September 2020 in the Indian Ocean, ~38 nautical miles east of Sri Lanka. One Filipino engineer was killed. The 22-strong crew (mostly Filipino + Indian) evacuated in lifeboats. The Indian Coast Guard, Indian Navy INS Sahyadri + Sri Lankan Navy responded rapidly; fire-fighting continued for over a week. She was ultimately salvaged and towed to Fujairah for cargo transfer. Total loss of the vessel was averted, but Sri Lanka initially detained her master + officers and levied a US$1.85m fine for pollution and environmental damage during the fire response.
New Diamond is the case for VLCC engine-room fire response + the coordination challenges of multi-nation salvage in high-value cargo. Every tanker chief engineer studies the engine-room fire propagation + accommodation-block evacuation sequence that emerged from this response.
Cited in IMO discussion of tanker fire response coordination in remote waters. Sri Lankan Attorney-General claim + Indian Coast Guard response protocols.