Sri Lankan Navy Tows Stricken Tanker Away From Coast, Indian Plane Sprays Trailing Slick

A Sri Lankan Navy boat sprays water on the New Diamond, a very large crude carrier (VLCC) chartered by Indian Oil Corp (IOC), that was carrying the equivalent of about 2 million barrels of oil, after a fire broke out off east coast of Sri Lanka, on Sept. 8, 2020. Sri Lankan Airforce media/Handout via Reuters

COLOMBO—The Sri Lankan navy towed a stricken supertanker away from the Indian Ocean island’s east coast on Wednesday, while an Indian Coast Guard plane sprayed chemical dispersants on a long oil slick that trailed in its wake.

A fire broke out in the engine room of the Greek-owned New Diamond tanker last Thursday. The blaze was believed to have been doused on Sunday but reignited a day later.