Aug 23, Colombo: A Cyprus ship that was anchored in the sea off Sri Lanka's west coast for some time pending the outcome of a court case has sunk completely creating a threat of severe sea pollution due to fuel in the ship's tanks.

The Director General of Commercial Shipping of the Ministry of Ports, Ajith Seneviratne said that the Master Divers Company was engaged in draining water from the decks to prevent the ship sinking.

Latest reports say the ship sank this afternoon completely with a store of 75 tons of crude oil despite all efforts to avoid the sinking.

This ship, named Thermopylae Sierra, belongs to the Cyprus government and it has been anchored for the past three years in the sea off Panadura due to commercial dispute.

The ship with a weight of 15,612 tons was to be moved to Trincomalee after making the essential renovation work to prevent it from sinking. About 370 metric tons of furnace oil in the ship had been removed last month.

The officials of the Attorney General's Department, Sea Pollution Prevention Authority and the Ministry of Ports were to discuss to take a final decision regarding the ship this afternoon.

The 155 metres long and 127 metres wide ship manufactured in 1985 was anchored since 2009.