The Liberian-flagged MSC Messina ship caught fire. (Image: ICG Twitter)
A Navy spokesman said the fire was reported from the ship’s engine compartment, which is currently located about 483 nautical miles from Kirinda, the southernmost tip of the island.
- PTI Colombo
- Last Update:June 25, 2021, 5:18 pm IS
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A container ship headed for Singapore caught fire in the Indian Ocean, the Sri Lankan Navy said on Friday, nearly a month after the fire sank a cargo ship carrying tons of chemicals near the country’s main port here. Navy spokeswoman Indica de Silva said the Liberian-flagged MSC Messina ship sailed for Singapore from Colombo port on June 22 and caught fire outside the island’s international maritime borders.
He said the Navy was informed of the fire on the ship in the early hours of Friday and since the ship is still within Sri Lanka’s search and rescue range, they will have to respond. A Navy spokesman said the fire was reported from the ship’s engine compartment, which is currently located about 483 nautical miles from Kirinda, the southernmost tip of the island.
The spokesman said a merchant ship nearby had been alerted to provide assistance and it was unlikely at this time that the Sri Lankan Navy would be called in to launch any rescue operations. It is the second cargo carrier to catch fire around Sri Lankan waters. The fire at the Singapore-flagged ‘X-Press Pearl’ near Colombo port in May caused the country’s worst marine ecological disaster.
The cargo carrier was carrying 1,486 containers of chemicals at the time of the fire. The Sri Lankan Navy, Air Force and the Indian Coast Guard jointly brought the fire under control in an operation that lasted several days. But the cargo sank off the coast of the country on 17 June. More than 60 dead sea turtles and other sea creatures, including dolphins that were suspected to have died after the shipwreck disaster, have washed ashore along various beaches on the island.
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