In Pics| Fire On Oil Tanker Off Sri Lankan Coast Extinguished, Major Disaster Averted

The Panamanian-registered New Diamond, carrying over 270,000 tonnes of crude and diesel, was en-route from Kuwait to Paradip port when it issued a distress call Thursday after an engine room explosion that killed a Filipino crew member. (Image AFP)

Sri Lanka's navy chief Nishantha Ulugetenna said the fire on the tanker, which the navy chief and the Indian coastguard got under control on Friday -- had finally been put out. (Image AFP)

The Panamanian-registered New Diamond, carrying over 270,000 tonnes of crude and diesel, was en-route from Kuwait to Paradip port when it issued a distress call Thursday after an engine room explosion that killed a Filipino crew member. (Image AFP)

The Indian coastguard, which deployed six ships, an aircraft and a helicopter, added on Sunday that its pollution control vessel had arrived at the site in the Indian Ocean.(Image: AFP)

Ten British and Netherlands professionals with expertise in rescue operations, disaster evaluation and legal consultation arrived to douse the fire. (Image: AFP)

Authorities said there has been no oil slick and the crack was not considered a catastrophic structural failure.(Image: ANI)

The rescue vessels doused the tanker with water to prevent fresh fires being ignited in heavy winds lashing the hot steel plates near the burnt engine room.(Image: ANI)

The tanker had suffered a crack of its hull some 10 metres (33 feet) above the waterline as a result of intense heat from the fire, officials said. (Image: AFP)

Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Centre said foreign salvage experts and insurance assessors had started examining the ship some 75 kilometres from the coast. (Image ANI)