India responds to SLN’s emergency request to douse fire on ‘X-Press Pearl’

India has promptly responded to an emergency request by Sri Lanka Navy and deployed multiple assets to douse the fire on MV X-Press Pearl today (May 25), the High Commission of India in Colombo stated.

This includes the Vessels Vaibhav, Vajra and Samudra Prehari by Indian Coast Guard and Tug Water Lilly by Director General, Shipping in addition to Dornier aircraft for aerial reconnaissance, the High Commission said.

The assistance of the Government of India for firefighting as well as pollution control had been sought by Sri Lanka Navy at 1200 hrs today.  This came in the wake of an onboard explosion the Singapore-flagged MV X Press Pearl.

Immediately upon receiving the request, relevant authorities in India had been alerted and assets were deployed expeditiously.

While the Dornier aircraft reached Colombo at around 1600 hrs on 25 May 2021,the first Vessel would reach around 1900 hrs , the mission said.

The Press release issued by the High Commission stated that India has the tradition of being the first responder during crises in Sri Lanka. It 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. Three Indian Naval Ships rushed with assistance following the floods in Sri Lanka in May 2017.