Several ships have arrived here to remove and haul the burnt hull of the ill-fated MV X-Press Pearl to the deep seas. The vessel caught fire within Sri Lankan waters and caused one of the worst maritime environmental disasters this country had ever seen. The vessel on board was carrying several containers of harmful chemicals, cosmetics and 25 MT of Nitric Acid, which on its own would not burn but would explode when it comes into contact with certain substances. Pix by Nisal Baduge