brand logo

MV X-Press Pearl disaster: MEPA accused of delaying clean-up of ship damage

27 Oct 2021

  • Archbishop, top monk, environmental groups decry delay in clean-up of coastal damage
  • MEPA defends scientific clean-up with stakeholder consultations
BY Pamodi Waravita reporting from Sarakkuwa Beach Environmental groups and members of the clergy, led by Archbishop of Colombo His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith and Ven. Pahiyangala Ananda Sagara Thera, yesterday (26) alleged that the Marine Environment Pollution Authority (MEPA) is delaying the clean-up of the coastal damage left in the wake of the MV X-Press Pearl maritime disaster, and urged the Government to pursue justice internationally to ensure that Sri Lanka receives the compensation it should receive due to the disaster. “When we came to the Sarakkuwa Beach (the beach that was most damaged by the pollution from said maritime disaster) in Kapungoda, Pamunugama, Negombo two months ago, we learnt that Chinthaka Waragoda who had built a special machine to mechanically clean up nurdles (pellets) had faced problems. The important thing about this machine is that it can simultaneously separate the plastic nurdles and the burnt microplastics. That damage is all over this beach. None of these other systems – the hand-operated nurdle machine or the sieving of sand – can do that. He was supposed to build and bring a few more machines for the cleaning up of the entire beach, but the MEPA did not allow it,” alleged Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) Executive Director Hemantha Withanage, speaking to The Morning yesterday. He made these comments at the Sarakkuwa Beach during an inspection of the clean-up led by members of the clergy. “The International Tanker Owners’ Pollution Federation (ITOPF) is paid by the ship owners and the shipping companies. But they are also the ones working with the MEPA and giving advice to the MEPA. We also learnt that none of the fishermen or the local church was initially involved in the clean-up. Last month, we insisted that local communities be involved in this clean-up process, and after that only these fisherwomen have been asked to come and help. However, they can only remove the nurdles. Only this machine can remove the microplastics,” he further claimed. However, MEPA Chairperson Dharshani Lahandapura told The Morning that the clean-up process is being done scientifically, based on consultations with a number of stakeholders, including local institutions such as the Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management Department (CCCRM), and elsewhere, the ITOPF. “When we identified Waragoda’s machine as a good machine, we deployed it at a fee of $ 3,750 per day. We supported him and requested his help in the cleaning up of the red zone at the Sarakkuwa Beach, where the pollution was the highest. He has completed the clean-up there now. In other areas of the beach, the pollution level is not that high, and for those areas we have deployed other methods of clean-up, with the help of the local communities,” said Lahandapura. She added that the average maximum pollution level is about 1.2 metres deep into the sand and that the MEPA is also considering a number of factors when deciding on which method of clean-up is suitable for each area of the beach. “We even consider the employability of the fisherfolk who lost their livelihood due to the disaster. We are a government institution entrusted with making the best decisions and we, therefore, refuse to be pressured by the personal and political agendas of various individuals,” she said. According to Lahandapura, the productivity levels of both the fisherfolk who manually collect the nurdles and the productivity of the machine developed by Waragoda are the same. A foreign official representing the ITOPF present at the Sarakkuwa Beach yesterday told The Morning that the ITOPF provides objective technical assistance during shipping-related incidents, such as the MV X-Press Pearl incident. “On this beach, we have identified different zones according to different levels of contamination. The machine was used for the red zone, an area with the greatest degree of contamination. It is not considered technically reasonable to use the machine across all zones,” said the official. Meanwhile, the Cardinal urged the Government to pursue justice internationally using international jurisdictions to ensure that Sri Lanka receives the compensation it should receive due to the disaster. “This is our country. Ship owners will eventually leave this place. We request the Government and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for a full investigation into this incident. Why was the ship allowed to burn for so many days? Why was it not towed away at the initial stages of the fire? While that investigation goes on, the clean-up of the coastal stretch needs to be strengthened. We are not concerned about the needs of the ITOPF, as we are not here to make companies feel better about themselves. The fisherfolk have suffered a lot. Our country is independent and the President must understand that too. If this kind of damage had occurred in another country, billions of US dollars of compensation would have been paid. Insurance companies cannot scare the officials here and then get off scot-free,” said the Cardinal. The MV X-Press Pearl ship caught fire on 20 May, approximately nine nautical miles away from the Colombo Harbour, after having anchored there a few hours prior to the fire. A subsequent explosion on 24 May led to the fire spreading and a number of containers aboard it falling into the sea, thus releasing pollutants including plastic pellets into the water. The MEPA yesterday said the coastal stretch from Mannar in the Northern Province to Kirinda in the Southern Province has encountered varying levels of pollution due to the disaster, with the Sarakkuwa Beach being the most heavily damaged. The United Nations (UN) Environmental Advisory Mission on the maritime disaster caused by the MV X-Press Pearl has stated that the increasing geographical extent of the plastic spill from the ship is the “largest on record”. The Government of Sri Lanka has been paid an initial settlement of Rs. 720 million ($ 3.6 million) of the first interim claim of $ 40 million. From this initial payment, the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development provided Rs. 216.5 million to the relevant district secretariats to pay as compensation to 12,111 fishing vessel owners and fishermen in the Colombo, Gampaha, and Kalutara Districts of the Western Province, who were impacted by the incident. Ministry of Justice Secretary M.M.P.K. Mayadunne told The Sunday Morning last week that the second interim claim for the damages caused due to the MV X-Press Pearl disaster has been filed, and that the authorities were confident that the requests would be honoured next month. He explained that following the payment of the second compensation claim, the insurers will have to compensate the fishermen who were impacted, and also settle a claim for the damage caused to the marine environment’s biodiversity. However, Mayadunne stated that both these claims would only be filed once the complete wreck had been removed from the seabed.


More News..