Sri Lanka on alert for possible environmental disaster due to sinking chemical ship

The authorities of Sri Lanka tries to avoid possible environmental disaster as container ship carrying chemicals sinks in country’s main port.

The Singapore-flagged MV X-Press Pearl began to sink on Wednesday, a day after authorities extinguished the 12-day fire that raged on the ship.. Efforts to tow the ship to deeper waters away from Colombo port failed after the ship’s stern was submerged and came to rest on the seabed.

Operators of the X-Press Feeders vessel said the fire destroyed most of the vessel’s cargo, which included 25 tons of nitric acid and other chemicals. But There are fears that the remaining chemicals, along with hundreds of tonnes of oil from the ship’s fuel tanks, could seep into the sea if it sinks.

Such a disaster could devastate marine life and further pollute the island’s famous beaches. The disaster has already left debris on the ground, including several tons of plastic pellets used to make plastic bags.

The government has already banned fishing on some 80 kilometers of coastline.

The ship’s operator said on Thursday that the stern of the ship was resting on the seabed some 21 meters below the surface and that the bow of the ship “was slowly settling”.. The company said rescue experts would stay with the vessel “to monitor the condition of the vessel and oil contamination.”

The company said its experts were coordinating with the Sri Lankan Navy to deal with an oil spill or other contamination.

Sri Lankan Navy spokeswoman Indika de Silva said the Navy and Coast Guard were preparing for an oil spill with help from neighboring India. India sent three ships to help, including one specially equipped to deal with marine pollution.

Environmentalist Ajantha Perera said there is a possibility of a “terrible environmental catastrophe” as chemicals and oil could be released into the water and destroy marine ecological systems.

Charitha Pattiaratchi, professor of oceanography at the University of Western Australia, said as many as 3 billion tiny plastic granules have already been dumped into the sea and reached beaches.. He said the granules, known as nurdles, “will persist in the marine environment forever because they are not biodegradable.”

The fire broke out on May 20 when the ship was anchored about 9.5 nautical miles (18 kilometers) northwest of Colombo and waiting to enter port.

The Navy believes the fire was caused by the ship’s chemical cargo, which was loaded in the port of Hazira, India., May 15.

Sri Lankan police are investigating the fire and a Colombo court on Tuesday banned the captain, engineer and assistant engineer from leaving the country. The government said it would take legal action against the owners of the ship to seek compensation.

Sri Lanka’s Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said “it would not be an easy task to calculate the damage to our environment”.

He told media on Wednesday evening that an investigation was underway to determine what was wrong and whether the shipping company was responsible.

“If this disaster happened through negligence, those responsible should be punished“, He said.

With AP information

KEEP READING: