COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A special Sri Lankan police team has begun investigating a fire on a ship anchored off its capital, as the government seeks to take legal action against the vessel's owners over the incident, which has caused severe marine pollution, officials said Monday.
© Provided by The Canadian Press
The fire on the MV X-Press Pearl has been burning since May 20, ravaging the ship, which officials said is only about five months old.
Navy spokesman Capt. Indika de Silva said the flames are still burning but have been reduced to “small spot fires” in the aft of the ship. Firefighting tugboats continue to spray the vessel, with support from vessels from the Sri Lankan navy and Indian coast guard.
Police spokesperson Ajith Rohana said a special 10-member team from the police Criminal Investigation Department has been assigned the probe. It is to question the ship's captain and chief engineer on Monday.
The vessel’s 25-member crew was evacuated on May 25 after an explosion. It includes Philippine, Chinese, Indian and Russian nationals.
The navy believes the fire was caused by chemicals being transported on the Singapore-flagged ship. It was carrying 1,486 containers, including 25 tons of nitric acid and other chemicals that were loaded at the port of Hazira, India, on May 15. The fire has destroyed most of the ship’s cargo.
Debris — including several tons of plastic pellets used to make plastic bags — from the burning ship has washed ashore and is causing severe pollution on beaches. The government has banned fishing along about 80 kilometers (50 miles) of the coast.
Authorities have also warned residents not to touch the debris because it could be contaminated with harmful chemicals.
The government’s Marine Environment Protection Authority says chemicals have mixed with the seawater and could cause severe damage to marine species and coral reefs.
Local television channels are showing dead fish, turtles and other marine life that has washed ashore in recent days.
The X-Press Pearl was anchored about 9.5 nautical miles (18 kilometers) northwest of Colombo and waiting to enter its port when the fire began.
X-Press Feeders, the operator of the ship, said on Sunday that the vessel’s hull remains structurally intact and there has been no loss of oil into the port’s waters.
Bharatha Mallawarachi, The Associated Press
Sri Lanka faces disaster as burning ship spills chemicals on beaches
The fire on the MV X-Press Pearl has been burning since May 20, ravaging the ship, which officials said is only about five months old.
Navy spokesman Capt. Indika de Silva said the flames are still burning but have been reduced to “small spot fires” in the aft of the ship. Firefighting tugboats continue to spray the vessel, with support from vessels from the Sri Lankan navy and Indian coast guard.
Police spokesperson Ajith Rohana said a special 10-member team from the police Criminal Investigation Department has been assigned the probe. It is to question the ship's captain and chief engineer on Monday.
The vessel’s 25-member crew was evacuated on May 25 after an explosion. It includes Philippine, Chinese, Indian and Russian nationals.
The navy believes the fire was caused by chemicals being transported on the Singapore-flagged ship. It was carrying 1,486 containers, including 25 tons of nitric acid and other chemicals that were loaded at the port of Hazira, India, on May 15. The fire has destroyed most of the ship’s cargo.
Debris — including several tons of plastic pellets used to make plastic bags — from the burning ship has washed ashore and is causing severe pollution on beaches. The government has banned fishing along about 80 kilometers (50 miles) of the coast.
Authorities have also warned residents not to touch the debris because it could be contaminated with harmful chemicals.
The government’s Marine Environment Protection Authority says chemicals have mixed with the seawater and could cause severe damage to marine species and coral reefs.
Local television channels are showing dead fish, turtles and other marine life that has washed ashore in recent days.
The X-Press Pearl was anchored about 9.5 nautical miles (18 kilometers) northwest of Colombo and waiting to enter its port when the fire began.
X-Press Feeders, the operator of the ship, said on Sunday that the vessel’s hull remains structurally intact and there has been no loss of oil into the port’s waters.
Bharatha Mallawarachi, The Associated Press
Sri Lanka faces disaster as burning ship spills chemicals on beaches
Hannah Ellis-Petersen South Asia correspondent
Sri Lanka is facing the worst environmental disaster in its history after a cargo ship carrying chemicals caught fire off its coast, spilling microplastics across the country’s pristine beaches and killing marine life.
© Provided by The Guardian Photograph: Ishara S Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images
The fire on MV X-Press Pearl, a Singapore-registered ship, broke out on 20 May and has been burning ever since. The Sri Lankan navy and Indian coastguard have been trying to reduce the flames for more than 10 days.
The 25-person crew was evacuated but the firefighting operation has been complicated by monsoon winds and the highly flammable and poisonous cargo. The ship was carrying 25 tonnes of nitric acid, sodium hydroxide and other dangerous chemicals as well as 28 containers of raw materials used to make plastic bags. It also had more than 300 tonnes of fuel in its tanks.
Though officials said the worst of the fire had been extinguished, explosions continued to be heard and thick smoke and small flames could be seen from the vessel over the weekend, which is anchored nine miles off the capital, Colombo.
It is feared the chemical spill has already caused untold damage to Sri Lanka’s coastline, including the popular tourist resorts of Negombo and Kalutara, with beaches thickly coated in microplastics and an oil slick visible in the surrounding ocean. The plastic pellets used to make plastic bags can be fatal to marine life and dead sea turtles, fish and birds have already begun washing up on beaches.
The fire on MV X-Press Pearl, a Singapore-registered ship, broke out on 20 May and has been burning ever since. The Sri Lankan navy and Indian coastguard have been trying to reduce the flames for more than 10 days.
The 25-person crew was evacuated but the firefighting operation has been complicated by monsoon winds and the highly flammable and poisonous cargo. The ship was carrying 25 tonnes of nitric acid, sodium hydroxide and other dangerous chemicals as well as 28 containers of raw materials used to make plastic bags. It also had more than 300 tonnes of fuel in its tanks.
Though officials said the worst of the fire had been extinguished, explosions continued to be heard and thick smoke and small flames could be seen from the vessel over the weekend, which is anchored nine miles off the capital, Colombo.
It is feared the chemical spill has already caused untold damage to Sri Lanka’s coastline, including the popular tourist resorts of Negombo and Kalutara, with beaches thickly coated in microplastics and an oil slick visible in the surrounding ocean. The plastic pellets used to make plastic bags can be fatal to marine life and dead sea turtles, fish and birds have already begun washing up on beaches.
© Provided by The Guardian An Indian coastguard ship tries to douse the fire as smoke billows from MV X-Press Pearl. Photograph: Lakruwan Wanniarachchi/AFP/Getty Images
Local people have been told not to touch any of the debris as it could be highly toxic and fishing has been banned within a 50-mile radius of the scene.
“With the available information so far, this can be described as the worst disaster in my lifetime,” said Dharshani Lahandapura, the chair of the Marine Environment Protection Authority. The MEPA said the chemicals had leaked into the sea and contaminated the water, probably causing ecological damage to coral reefs, lagoons and mangroves that could take decades to repair.
Local people have been told not to touch any of the debris as it could be highly toxic and fishing has been banned within a 50-mile radius of the scene.
“With the available information so far, this can be described as the worst disaster in my lifetime,” said Dharshani Lahandapura, the chair of the Marine Environment Protection Authority. The MEPA said the chemicals had leaked into the sea and contaminated the water, probably causing ecological damage to coral reefs, lagoons and mangroves that could take decades to repair.
© Photograph: Ishara S Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images Members of the Sri Lankan navy work to remove debris washed ashore from the MV X-Press Pearl in Colombo.
Thousands of navy personnel in protective gear have been deployed on a cleanup operation to remove the thick layer of plastic pollution and chemical waste that has begun coating the shores, with bulldozers used to move the waste.
The government has promised an investigation into the disaster and a special police team has been assembled to question the captain and crew. Authorities believe the disaster was caused by a nitric acid leak.
Thousands of navy personnel in protective gear have been deployed on a cleanup operation to remove the thick layer of plastic pollution and chemical waste that has begun coating the shores, with bulldozers used to move the waste.
The government has promised an investigation into the disaster and a special police team has been assembled to question the captain and crew. Authorities believe the disaster was caused by a nitric acid leak.
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