Colombo: Sri Lankan authorities fear a possible oil spill from a Singaporean container ship on fire off the country’s western coast as the upper deck of the vessel was completely destroyed, officials said on Thursday.
The fire, which broke out on May 20 on the MV X-Press Pearl, was beyond control and spreading inside the vessel anchored 10 nautical miles off the main Colombo port, reports dpa news aency.
The Indian Coast Guard has deployed two ships for firefighting operations. The distressed ship has a crew who are Philippine, Chinese, Indian and Russian nationals.