Singapore bound container ship catches fire in Indian Ocean
A fire broke out on a container ship sailing toward Singapore in the Indian Ocean, Sri Lankan Navy said on Friday, a week after a cargo ship carrying tonnes of chemicals sank near the country's main port in Colombo nearly a month after catching fire. Navy spokesperson Indika de Silva said the Liberian-flagged MSC Messina had left Colombo port on June 22 for Singapore.
Navy was alerted about the fire early Friday
"The ship caught fire outside the island's international maritime borders," he added. He said the Navy was alerted to the ship's fire early hours of Friday and since the ship is still within Sri Lanka's search and rescue limits they were obliged to respond.
Fire was reported from the engine compartment of the vessel
"The fire was reported from the engine compartment of the vessel, which is currently located 483 nautical miles away from Kirinda, the southernmost tip of the island," the Navy spokesman said. "A merchant vessel in proximity had been alerted to provide assistance and at this point it was unlikely that Sri Lanka Navy would be called upon to launch any rescue missions," he said.
'X-Press Pearl' fire caused the country's worst marine ecological disaster
This is the second cargo carrier to catch fire around the Sri Lankan waters. The fire on board the Singapore-flagged "X-Press Pearl" near the port of Colombo in May caused the country's worst marine ecological disaster. The cargo carrier was carrying 1,486 containers of chemicals when it caught fire. The operation to douse the fire took several days.
Dead sea creatures washed ashore after the disaster
The Sri Lankan Navy, Airforce, and the Indian Coast Guard jointly doused the fire in the operation. But the cargo sank off the country's coast on June 17. More than 60 dead sea turtles and other sea creatures, including Dolphins, suspected to have died in the aftermath of the ship disaster, have washed ashore along various beaches of the island.
