Listen to the Ocean

Sri Lanka is still suffering from the devastating consequences of the X-Press Pearl disaster. It started on May 20, 2021 after it caught fire off the coast of Colombo. The vessel was engulfed in flames by May 27 and declared a total loss. It was still afloat, and the fire was thought to be under control by Sri Lankan firefighters by the late hours of May 27. After burning for 12 days, the vessel sank on June 2 as it was being towed to deeper waters. The incident was deemed the worst marine ecological disaster in Sri Lankan history for the chemical products that spilled. 

According to X-Press Feeders, salvage operations to remove the wreck began in November 2021. All work on site was expected to be completed by April this year. Salvage work was interrupted during the southwest monsoon from late April to November 2022.

According to reports Sri Lanka’s Marine Environmental Protection Authority (MEPA) had said it was assessing the environmental damage and collecting evidence. Plans were made to submit an interim claim. Plastic resin pellet pollution from spilled cargo was washing up on Sri Lanka’s beaches from May 27. LDPE pellets have also been washed onto nearby land. According to MEPA, there were three containers of plastic pellets on board the ship, each weighing 26,000kg.

Health experts and MEPA also warned that there are possibilities for mild acid rains in Sri Lanka due to the emission of nitrogen dioxide. Sri Lanka authorities banned coastal fishing from Kalutara to Negombo, over contamination fears. About 5,600 one-day fishing boats were unable to venture out and the government promised compensation. People were also urged by MEPA not to touch any debris from the container ship which is contaminated with toxic substances, the report stated.

A police complaint was made to investigate negligence. It was also assembling an expert panel to assess longer-term environmental damage. Dead fish and turtles continued to wash up on Sri Lanka’s beaches and were examined to determine if their deaths were caused by the spill. Out of the 1,486 containers, 81 of those were regarded as toxic harmful dangerous containers inclusive of five tons of nitric acid.

Sri Lanka ordered salvors to remove bunker oil, if any had survived the blaze, and take containment measures. X-Press Feeders said it had hired Oil Spill Response to support the effort. The operators had engaged SMIT Salvage when the crisis first started. By June 3, the vessel was still partially afloat, with the aft section resting on the bottom 21 metres (69 ft) below.

Media reports indicated that X-Press Feeders, Chief Executive. Shmuel Yoskovitz had apologized to the people of Sri Lanka for the incident. “I’d like to express my deep regrets and apologies to the Sri Lankan people for the harm this incident has caused to the livelihood and to the environment of Sri Lanka,” he was quoted as saying in an interview with Singapore’s Channel News Asia. Authorities in Sri Lanka continued to collect debris and plastic pellets in what was described as the biggest ever nurdle hunt in the country. About 34 containers had been filled with debris from X-Press Pearl including nurdles. Authorities had collected 1,075 metric tonnes of debris, including sand, which were stored in containers by June 8. As of June 15, 2021, about 40 dead turtles were reported to have washed ashore. In addition to turtles, many species of fish, whales and at least six dolphins also washed ashore with multiple burn markings; aquatic species are also seriously affected by the dispersal of the plastic pellets.
Two years after the worst ever marine disaster in Sri Lanka,  fishing communities have been complaining about oil or any other chemical spill from the disastrous ship. They charged that a layer of dark oily substance could be observed from the sea surrounding the ship wreck. The fishermen also complained about a major shortage of fishing resources in the area, possibly due to the disaster. The worst, the environmentalists are warning that the public should stop consuming fishes caught from the sea area where X-Press Pearl ship was destroyed and have even warned that there could be a possible increase in cancer patients in the future.

As Sri Lanka faces this crisis, the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on June 8 marks the World Oceans Day. In a statement the world body says the ocean covers the majority of the earth, but only a small portion of its waters has been explored. Despite humanity’s utter reliance on it, and compared to the breadth and depth of what it gives us, the ocean receives only a fragment of our attention and resources in return. But tides are changing. 

Sri Lanka has been known as the pearl of the Indian Ocean surrounded by once clear waters. We remember the words of the beautiful song, “listen to the ocean, echoes of a million seashells, forever it is in motion, moving to a rhythmic unwritten music, that is played eternally”.