Container ship fire in high seas risking ecological disaster

Singapore registered  X-Press Pearl with tonnes of chemicals and plastics is threatening marine life off the coast of Sri Lanka. Efforts to two the sinking cargo ship into deeper water to limit its environmental impact failed according to officials.

Hundreds of tonnes of oil could leak into sea with some warning it would destroy the whole bottom. Both Indian and Sri Lanka Navies  had worked jointly over the past 6 days in an  attempt to put out the fire and prevent the ship from breaking up and sinking.

The gusty monsoon winds have hampered the salvage operation just outside the port of Columbo.

Salvage experts tried to tow the wreck into deeper water to minimise the pollution risk to the coastline as the back section  hit the seabed and the operation was abandoned.

The ships operators, X-press Feeders,  said “the aft portion is sitting on the seabed at a depth of 21m (69ft) the forward section is settling down slowly,” The Sri Lankan Navy said the bow of the ship was still above the waterline. There is no oil leak from the ship yet, but arrangement  are in place to deal with a possible spill which is the worst-case scenario”. Sri Lanka’s marine protection agency said it was preparing booms, oil dispersants, booms and skimmers.

The ship is carrying dangerous good, the nitric acid and oil in the ship, if it is sinking it will basically destroy the whole bottom of the sea, The costal stretch near the city of Negombo home to some of Sri Lanka’s most pristine beaches has already seen oil and debris pollution for days.

Sri Lankan officials  believe the fire in the ship was caused by a nitric acid leak as they were denied permission by both Qatar and India to leave the ship before the fire broke out.

 

The 186m long vessel left the Indian port of Hazira on 15 May carrying 1, 486 containers as well as nitric acid, several chemicals, cosmetics and oil.