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A container ship laden with chemicals that has been on fire for nearly two weeks has begun to sink off the coast of Sri Lanka, sparking fears of a serious environmental disaster.
Efforts to move the MV X-Press Pearl to the deeper waters failed on Wednesday, prompting the Singapore operator to shift its focus to mitigating environmental damage as the risk of a potential spill increased. of oils.
The ship has already caused one of the worst marine environmental disasters in Sri Lanka’s history, with chemicals coming from incinerated containers entering the surrounding waters and plastic pellets being washed ashore on the sandy beaches near Negombo.
The operator X-Press Feeders, the operator, told the Financial Times that it had called Itopf, an NGO that responds to oil and chemical spills, and Oil Spill Response, a British group specializing in oil spill management. oil, as a result of the ship’s situation. threatens to climb.
The Associated Press reported that Sri Lanka’s Navy spokesman, Captain Indika de Silva, said the ship could cause serious pollution if it sank at its current location.
Sri Lanka recovers wrecked offshore Singapore ship MV X-Press Pearl on fire © AP
The ship had about 350 tons of bunker fuel on board, but it is still unclear how much was burned during the fire and whether a certain volume of tanks could be pumped.
“The stern portion of the boat now touches the bottom at a depth of 21 meters,” X-Press Feeders said in a statement, while the bow would likely sink gradually with smoke coming out of the two holds.
Sri Lanka’s Marine Environment Protection Authority has drawn up a plan in the event of an oil spill, according to Kanchana Wijesekera, the country’s fisheries minister. Physical barriers would be deployed to slow the spread and foaming boats would be used to help disperse any oil spills.
The fire started on May 20 when the ship, carrying 1,486 containers, was anchored in front of Colombo waiting to enter port.
Sri Lankan officials believe the conflagration was caused by chemicals carrying the newly built ship, including 25 tonnes of nitric acid, which can be used to make fertilizers and explosives.
The Department of Fisheries has suspended the entry of vessels from the Negombo Lagoon and has stopped fishing activity from Panadura and Negombo.
The Sri Lankan navy and Indian coastguards have supported efforts to extinguish the fire and limit the pollution resulting from the sinking of the ship.
A team and a crew of 25 firefighters were evacuated from the ship after a second explosion last week. Later, one of the crew tested positive for Covid-19. A local court has imposed a ban preventing the captain, chief engineer and assistant engineer of the ship from leaving the country.
Spills of chemicals, plastics and oil “erode the resilience of marine ecosystems” and threaten the livelihoods of those who depend on the ocean for food and their livelihoods, said John Mimikakis, vice president of the program on Oceans for Asia at the Environmental Protection Fund.
The disaster illustrated “a global environmental justice problem that currently exists in the world: developing countries have contributed relatively little to fossil fuel demand or climate change, although they bear the grave consequences of both.” added.
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