A cargo ship carrying tonnes of chemicals is sinking off Sri Lanka’s west coast, the country’s government and navy said on Wednesday (June 2), in one of Sri Lanka’s worst-ever marine disasters.
The Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl, carrying 1,486 containers, including 25 tonnes of nitric acid, along with other chemicals and cosmetics, was anchored off the island’s west coast when a fire erupted on May 20.
Authorities have been battling the blaze since then, as flaming containers laden with chemicals have fallen from the ship’s deck, the navy said last month.<img alt="" data-caption="A handout photo. Smoke rises from a fire onboard the MV X-Press Pearl vessel in the seas off the Colombo Harbour, in Sri Lanka May 30, 2021.
PHOTO: Reuters via Sri Lanka Airforce Media” data-entity-type=”file” data-entity-uuid=”3b6a83df-2b46-4a5f-9d10-1eaa061fa039″ src=”/sites/default/files/inline-images/20120602_ship_reuters.jpg”/>Tonnes of plastic pellets have swamped the island’s coastline and rich fishing grounds, creating one of the biggest environmental crises in decades, experts say.
“The salvage company involved in the X-Press Pearl has indicated that the vessel is sinking at the current position,” fisheries minister Kanchana Wijesekera said in a tweet.
The government has banned fishing along an 80-kilometre stretch of coastline, affecting 5,600 fishing boats, while hundreds of soldiers have been deployed to clean the beach.
A salvage crew is towing the vessel to deeper water, Wijesekera added.
The Sinking Vessel #XPressPearl is been towed away to deep waters by the salvage company with the support of the #Navy and other stakeholders involved. Images from just a few minutes ago. pic.twitter.com/NpvXXmUcVE
— Kanchana Wijesekera (@kanchana_wij) June 2, 2021
Maritime and ShippingSri Lankaships
