Concern over unpaid damages

By Ifham Nizam

The owners of the gutted MT New Diamond’ crude oil tanker have paid Rs. 442 million as cost incurred by the Sri Lankan government in fighting the major fire aboard the vessel, but officials attached to the marine and biodiversity divisions express concern over some four billion rupees to be paid for damage caused to the country’s marine environment.

Attorney General’s coordinating officer Nishara Jayaratne said the actual expenses incurred by the government stakeholders in controlling the fire onboard the ship was Rs. 442 million. It however did not include the cost of marine pollution caused by the oil spill from the vessel, she said.

More than 10 Olive Ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) have died in some parts of the country since Sunday and the death rate was increasing, a senior officer at the Wildlife Department said.

The Department on Monday handed over five dead turtles to the National Zoological Gardens in Dehiwala, after obtaining a Court order from the Mount Lavinia Magistrate to investigate the cause of their deaths.

A senior official said that it was too soon to connect the recent oil spill in the eastern Sri Lankan waters as the major cause athough there was a high probability.

The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Colombo, as exclusively reported in The Island Friday edition, granted permission to the owners of the ‘MT New Diamond’ to tow the vessel away from Sri Lankan maritime border.