COLOMBO, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Over 200 liters of crude oil have leaked into the sea due to a pipeline leak at the Colombo Port, Sri Lanka's Ceylon Petroleum Corporation said on Sunday.
The leak was detected in a pipeline used to unload crude oil from a fuel tanker at the first buoy of the Colombo Port, the company said.
Fuel unloading through the affected pipeline has been temporarily suspended, and repair work is currently underway to contain the leak and prevent further spillage.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Coast Guard has launched an operation to remove crude oil mixed with seawater, deploying a vessel to carry out cleanup activities in the affected area. The Sri Lanka Navy is also assisting the Coast Guard in the containment and recovery efforts.
The Marine Environmental Protection Authority said samples of the leaked crude oil have been collected and sent for laboratory testing.
There have been several oil leaks in these pipelines in recent years. ■
