Sri Lanka questions crew after burning cargo leaves debris, plastic pollution on beaches

As Sri Lankan Navy soldiers launched a rigorous initiative to clean the debris, plastic pollution washed ashore from the container ship MV X-Press Pearl that was caught ablaze on May 20, officials on Sunday launched a probe against the vessel’s crew for spilling a large amount of microplastic and carrying 25 tonnes of nitric acid on the ship before it entered the Colombo harbour.

The still under fumes Singapore flagged cargo, anchored just outside the Colombo harbour [at 9.5 nautical miles 18 km northwest] spilled chemical granules used to manufacture plastic on the beach in Ja-Ela, that also washed on the beaches of Wattala to Negombo in the island nation’s suburbs. The container vessel had loaded at the port of Hazira in India on May 15, according to Sri Lankan press reports.

The scrap from the 186-meter (610-foot) burning vessel floated into Sri Lanka’s pristine beaches, some of which also polluted the Indian Ocean. The microplastic granules from the vessel’s 1,500 containers have caused one of the worst ecological disasters in Sri Lanka’s history prompting fishing bans. In the visuals that emerged, Sri Lankan soldiers were seen attired in Protective hazmat suits toiling to rapidly clean the plastic laden beaches, accumulating granules into sacks for safe disposal. Bulldozers scooped tonnes of the polythene pellets generally used in the packaging industry. 

Singapore registered X-Press Pearl vessel had been on fire for the past 11 days, and while the oil and debris from the ship carrying chemicals and cosmetics have caused a blanket of unmanageable marine pollution, there are looming fears of a major environmental disaster if the ship, which is still too hot from fire to get onboard or two, sinks. 

Indian Navy leads collaborative effort with Sri Lankan Navy

The Sri Lankan navy had been working under the collaborative efforts of the Indian Navy that deployed Vaibhav, Vajra and Samudra Prehari vessels of the Indian Coast Guard, firefighters, and salvagers from Dutch company SMIT to douse the fire on the cargo X-Press Pearl, which caused 40 kilometres (25 miles) oil spill. The concern, however, now remains to anchor the wrecked vessel into the deeper waters, which is made hard by the rough sea tide and powerful monsoonal winds.

At least two of the ship’s crew members were badly injured and hospitalized, and one was diagnosed with COVID-19. The rest of the 25-member crew of Russian, Chinese, Philippine, and Indian nationals, all of whom rescued by the Sri Lanka Navy on 25 May, are now being investigated. 

Sri Lanka's Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA)  chief Dharshani Lahandapura told reporters that Sri Lanka was still accessing the intensity of the damage incurred to the marine ecosystem, but the plastic pellets had covered the entire coastline in the disaster that he described as "worst ever” in course of his lifetime.

Sri Lanka's Police Inspector-General ordered the Criminal Investigation Department to probe the environmental hazard and the cause of the mishap. The authorities were able to interrogate the 25-member crew that has recently completed the mandatory quarantine period on May 30. MEPA told the presser that the vessel’s captain was aware of the nitric acid leak onboard the cargo container.