By Sarah Hannan While the Sri Lankan Government waits for the settlement of the fire mitigation and rescue claim billed against the MT New Diamond, the Sri Lanka Navy estimates that it would take over two months for the vessel to be towed away from Sri Lankan territorial waters. Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Sri Lanka Navy Spokesperson Capt. Indika De Silva said: “The Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC), which is operated under the Sri Lanka Navy, gave permission for the distressed vessel to be towed out of Sri Lankan territorial waters only after the settlement is made, as communicated to the Attorney General’s (AG) Department.” Capt. De Silva also noted that given the northeast monsoon period that is expected in the coming weeks, the vessel’s contracted salvers will have to be given sufficient time to tug it out of its current position. “Towing away such a large vessel with tonnes of crude oil is not going to be an easy task, and the speed with which they could tow would be only about two nautical miles per hour. Originally, the ship was to reach India’s Paradip Port. However, given the current position of the crude oil tanker, the salvors are looking at taking it to either calmer seas or the next closest port, after which the crude oil transfer is to take place,” Capt. De Silva added. On Thursday (1), the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) had written to the AG’s Department copying President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Kamal Gunaratne, Commander of Sri Lanka Navy Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenna, and Merchant Shipping Secretariat Director General A.W. Seneviratne, stating that the vessel could only be towed away after the investigations are completed and the claims of Rs. 440 million are settled in full. When asked about the current responsibility of the MRCC, Capt. De Silva noted that they have two monitoring vessels deployed in the vicinity of the MT New Diamond ship, adding that the sailors are shadowing the movements of the ship and ensuring that they are not attempting to tow it out of Sri Lanka’s territorial waters. Earlier last week, MT New Diamond Captain Sterio Ilias appeared before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court, after which he faced a travel ban. The Captain was held in remand custody at the request of AG Dappula de Livera following an observation made by Deputy Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris on 17 September, stating that the Captain and the crew of MT New Diamond had abandoned the ship when the fire broke out while transporting crude oil from Kuwait to India, adding that their irresponsible actions resulted in a disastrous situation. The Additional Magistrate had then issued summons, noting that the Captain of MT New Diamond, who was named as a suspect, had failed to co-operate with the ongoing investigations. On 28 September, National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) oceanographers had observed that the turtle habitat in the eastern seas was impacted by the MT New Diamond bunker oil spill. NARA had deployed their research teams to collect samples from the beachside in the eastern coast and posted an observation team to study the behavioural changes of marine life and aquaculture in the surrounding and adjacent areas of the bunker oil spill. Speaking to The Sunday Morning, NARA Environmental Studies Division Head Dr. K.W.S. Weerasekara said: “The first observations recorded by our team at the site noted that the turtles were the first to react to the change in the seawater column due to the dilution of bunker oil in the area. They have been swimming closer to the surface, which indicates the air within the water column could be polluted to a certain extent and that it is hindering their underwater breathing capacity.” NARA’s Samudrika vessel is afloat at the site and a team of research scientists is continuing their observations and research to support the marine pollution report that MEPA will be preparing with the assistance of other universities. According to NARA’s estimations, the observations will have to continue on a fortnightly basis for the next three months, with monthly situational updates to be conducted over the next three years in order to assess the extent of the pollution that was caused by the bunker oil spill from the distressed MT New Diamond ship.