Sri Lanka had sought help in firefighting as well as pollution control

Continuing with its tradition of being the first responder during crises in the neighborhood, India on Tuesday reacted promptly to an emergency request by the Sri Lankan Navy by deploying multiple assets to douse the fire on MV X Press Pearl off Colombo.

In the wake of an on board explosion on Singapore-flagged vessel MV X Pearl, the Lankan Navy sought Indian assistance from India at 12 noon for firefighting as well as pollution control.

Immediately upon receiving the request, relevant authorities in India were alerted and assets were deployed expeditiously, the Indian High Commission in Colombo said in a press release.

The assets deployed by New Delhi includes Vessels Vaibhav, Vajra and Samudra Prehari by the Indian Coast Guard and Tug Water Lilly by Director General, Shipping in addition to Dornier aircraft for aerial reconnaissance.

While the Dornier aircraft reached Colombo at around 4 pm on Tuesday, the first vessel reach around 7 pm.

It may be recalled that a potentially huge oil spill was averted with assistance from India after MT New Diamond with 200,000 metric tons crude oil on board caught fire off Sri Lanka’s Eastern Coast in September 2020.

Earlier, in May 2017, theee Indian Naval Ships rushed with assistance following the floods in Sri Lanka.