Sadly, the pearl-shaped island has faced the worst man-made environmental tragedy of the century. Due to an explosion on a ship off the Colombo port, the beaches and marine ecosystem of Sri Lanka have been affected.
Ship Supplied with Pollutants
The explosion took place on the cargo ship, MV X-Press Pearl, which is a Singapore authorized ship, and was operated by X-Press Feeders. The ship had 186 carriers, carrying 35 tonnes of nitric acid, sodium hydroxide and other hazardous materials. Along with this, the ship carried with it 28 containers of raw materials for the production of plastics.
Furthermore, the ship in itself had 300 tonnes of fuel in its tanks for a long infamous journey.
The Infamous Journey
The ship had initially left the Hazira port in India, on 15th May and was on its way to Singapore via Colombo, where it reached on 19th May. The crew initially discovered nitric acid leaking from a container that was loaded in Jebel Ali Port, a deep seaport in Dubai on 11th May.
The ship’s crew was denied permission by both India and Qatar to offload the container as there was no technical support as part of their crew. The ship caught fire due to the acid leak on 20th May about 9.5 Nautical (18 kilometres) northwest of Colombo port.
The fire was immediately brought under control by the port authorities on 21st May, but the fire reignited on 25th May once again. The coast guard was able to rescue the crew of 25 members of which 5 were Indians. The crew were investigated regarding the acid leak for about 14 hours straight.
Joint International Effort
The Sri Lankan Coast guard sought the help of Indian Coast guard authorities. On government orders, ICGS Vaibhav, an offshore patrol vessel equipped with external foam fire fighting and pollution response capabilities, was sent to maritime patrol. Another coast guard offshore patrol vessel from Tuticorin, ‘Vajra’, with similar abilities of fire fighting and pollution control was also deployed.
For immediate response, similar coast guard formations were kept on standby for pollution control, in Chennai, Kochi and Tuticorin. For aerial surveillance, aircrafts belonging to the coast guard were brought in from Chennai and Kochi to Tuticorin. All the coast guard authorities were waiting to control an inevitable oil spill from the ship’s fuel tank.
A joint effort by both the Indian and Lankan Coast Guards was finally able to put off the fire after 13 days. Caution was exercised to prevent the ship from breaking into two, causing a massive oil spill. Yet weather conditions weren’t favourable. The rough sea and monsoon winds obstructed the efforts and the ship started sinking.
The ship was being dragged to the deeper waters to minimize pollution and reduce the harm done to the coastline. The salvage crew used tow boats to drag the cargo ship. The efforts were futile as the ship slowly sank into the ocean. The rear part of the ship or the aft portion sank to the seabed and is at a depth of 21 meters and the hull or forward section of the ship also started sinking slowly.
Environmental Damage
Though efforts were made to control the spill of hazardous chemicals into the water by authorities, the shipwreck had already made a huge environmental impact. The floating debris of damaged containers and microplastics have already started washing ashore. Thankfully the toxic cargo were reduced to ashes along with the burning ship, which sank. Yet oil slack is seen near the impacted area.
The chemical spill nevertheless is said to have had an impact already. This is evident from the marred scenery of the beaches and coastline of Negombo and Kalutara which are known to be popular tourist spots and known for their resorts. Locals have been warned from touching the debris, as it might be toxic.
The Marine Environment Protection Authority, has also revealed that the chemicals have leaked into the coral reefs, lagoons and mangroves. This might take a decade to repair. The chemicals have contaminated water and have done damage to the seabed.
The beaches are also covered up with microplastics. These microplastics have also affected the marine ecosystem. This is evident from the dead fish, dead sea turtles and birds which have started washing up on the shore. This has forced the Government to impose a ban on fishing along the coastline which is at a stretch of 80 kilometres.
Along with this, fishing has also been banned from the 50-mile radius of the scene as it might be quite toxic. The chair of MEPA, Dharshani Lahandapura said, “With the available information so far, this can be described as the worst disaster in my lifetime”.
Certain intellectuals consider it one of the “worst man-made disasters” in over a century. A colossal task awaits Sri Lankan authorities. The government has also ordered an investigation into the issue and is planning to get insurance for the ecological damage caused.
Written by - Chandrasekar
Edited by - Piyush Pandey
Edited by - Piyush Pandey
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