The New Diamond very large crude carrier (VLCC) is on fire in the Indian Ocean off Sri Lanka, an official at Indian state-controlled refiner IOC said.
The vessel, which was built in 2000, was carrying crude from Kuwait to Paradip port on India's east coast, where IOC operates a 300,000 b/d refinery, when it caught fire earlier today.
The cause of the fire is unclear. Fellow Indian refiner Reliance Industries has diverted one of its nearby tankers to assist the VLCC.
Shipping fixtures show the New Diamond was chartered by IOC in late July at Worldscale (WS) 32, with a loading window of 21-22 August and a demurrage rate of $17,000/d.
The vessel is due to arrive at Paradip on 5 September. It is carrying 1.9mn bl of Kuwait Export Crude, according to Vortexa.

