Sri Lanka, Sept. 16 -- The Indian Coast guard (ICG) has allayed fears of a possible oil leak at the site of the MT New Diamond, 40 miles off the Sri Lankan Coast adding that the minor oil sheen sighted near aft (rear) of the ship was part of the unburnt oil/oil mixed with water from the ship's engine room.

The latest statement from the ICG reported in the Indian press stated that a team of naval architects that boarded the oil tanker found the vessel to be stable and that there were no breaches of its tanks, hotspots, flames/smokes on-board.

However, the rear portion of the vessel (aft) has sunken into the water by 1 metre, a slight increase from its earlier position of 3 feet. Efforts are underway to get the ship on even keel with the ...