The Captain of the crude oil tanker ‘MT New Diamond’ plead guilty for the charges filed against him, related to the fire that broke out on the ship. The Colombo High Court has also imposed a fine of Rs 12 million on the Captain.
The crude oil tanker ‘MT New Diamond’ had caught on fire while on Sri Lankan waters, with the Captain pleading guilty for the charges filed against him in relation to the fire.
The Attorney General had sought a court order for compensation in a sum of Rs 200 million, but the court decided to impose the fine of Rs 12 million.
On October 08, the Attorney General filed indictments in relation to the oil spill caused by the fire in the ship and the failure to report of the fire in violation of the Sections 26 and 38 of the Marine Environment Pollution Authority (MEPA) Act.
The tanker had suffered a boiler explosion in its engine room while east of Sri Lanka. This caused a large salvage operation to tackle the fire on the ship.
Now, the vessel is under tow to Fujairah, where its cargo will be discharged and the ship will be assessed for repairs.
The ship’s owner, New Shipping, has already paid a fine of $1.84 million for the accident.
