The beauty of living in Sri Lanka is the fact that it is synonymous with its beautiful beaches and relaxing manner of island life. It is known as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean for more reasons than one, and its beauty truly does stem from its intrinsic relationship with nature, especially the ocean. However, as is the case with most things beautiful, they rarely seem to be valued and cared for.
We as human beings seldom do our part in ensuring we protect what we view as just a “blue tank of water”. This ocean is in fact one of the reasons we survive and thrive. People do not realise the value of the majority of organisms within the ocean, and how much of the work they are truly doing to ensure our very survival. These marine organisms are the base of every marine food chain and without them, nothing else would remain; no fish, no extended food sources, no life.
Despite this urgent necessity to protect our oceans, we see that due to the rapid development that mankind is engaged in, disasters occur, thereby causing years’ worth of damage to the ecosystem in which they take place. 60,000 ships travel in and out of Sri Lanka annually, but unfortunately all it takes is one potentially catastrophic event to pose the gravest risk to the environment.
One such example recently unfolded as a maritime nightmare within the seas of Sri Lanka. A 2,700 TEU (20-foot equivalent unit) ship, carrying 25 tonnes of nitric acid, caught fire on 20 May off the Colombo Port. What followed from this horrific incident was even more terrible news over the next few days; the vessel suffered an explosion, and all crew were evacuated, with at least 10 containers (some feared to be containing acid) tumbling into the sea. Authorities issued swimming and fishing bans in the surrounding seas. High winds in the area fanned the flames into an even greater inferno, prodding environmentalists and marine experts alike to question how this incident even came to be.
Now Sri Lanka is facing its worst maritime pollution crisis in history, which is threatening to turn into the worst maritime pollution crisis in South Asia’s history, as tonnes of plastic waste from the burning container ship, Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl, is washing ashore. Fishermen were banned from an 80 kilometre (50 mile) stretch of coast near the X-Press Pearl as an international firefighting operation raged on. This ferocious fire was burning off Sri Lanka’s western coast for 12 days before it was finally extinguished with the assistance of the Indian Coast Guard. Over 1,480 containers, including 25 tonnes of nitric acid and other chemicals are on board, and authorities were taking measures to prepare for the worst case scenario of a possible oil or chemical spill, although thankfully that now looks highly unlikely.
The MV X-Press Pearl ship had not informed the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) of a leaking nitric acid container aboard the vessel when departing from India and had only notified them about the leak upon arrival within a short distance of the Colombo Harbour, according to SLPA officials. Speaking to The Morning, they stated that they were informed about the said acid leak a little too late, once the ship had entered Colombo’s waters and while they were preparing to assist it, shortly before the fire had broken out aboard the vessel.
“When the ship came to Sri Lankan waters in the early hours of 20 May and anchored about 9.5 nautical miles away from the Colombo Harbour, it informed the Port of the acid leakage in one of its containers and the Port was preparing to assist in a rework operation, which was when the distress call came from aboard the ship about a fire,” an official said.
Environmentalist Dr. Ajantha Perera has questioned why the MV X-Press Pearl vessel that was refused entry into the waters of India and Qatar was given permission by local authorities to enter Sri Lankan waters.
“No matter how much compensation we receive, it is not enough to restore the damage to our environment. The Environment Ministry should act more responsibly. Procurement of equipment and training of Navy and Maritime Authority officials should be done to prevent such disasters in future,” she added.
These questions that have continuously been raised over the past few days have been clarified by the Singapore-based X-Press Feeders, which operates the ship, through the statement they issued confirming the facts.
“Please note, reports that the vessel was denied entry into Hazira Port in India and Hamad Port in Qatar are incorrect. The ship underwent discharge and loading operations in both ports before continuing on its planned journey to Colombo. Applications had been made to both ports to offload a container that was leaking nitric acid, but the advice given was there were no specialist facilities or expertise immediately available to deal with the leaking acid,” the statement read.
Speaking to The Morning, SLPA Chairman Gen. (Retd.) Daya Ratnayake also confirmed that the Colombo Port had not been initially informed of the acid leak, and the stories regarding it not having been granted access to the ports in Qatar and India were indeed false.
The fact that human error with regards to not informing the relevant authorities about the acid leak itself has led to such a disastrous maritime tragedy unfolding in our waters only adds to the ongoing stresses already plaguing the country.
The greatest threat to the area now are the millions of polyethylene pellets washing up on beaches and threatening fish-breeding shallow waters. The affected seafront is known for its delicious seafood and gleaming beaches. "This is probably the worst beach pollution in our history," said Sri Lanka's Marine Environment and Protection Authority (MEPA) Head Dharshani Lahandapura. Thousands of military and security personnel in hazmat suits were seen cleaning the beaches of plastic waste and other debris from the ship, and the impact on mangroves, lagoons, and marine wildlife in the region is also currently being assessed.
Environmentalist Prof. Jagath Gunawardana told BBC Sinhala that the danger of these pellets was that they float and eventually break up in the sea, which meant that they would release a lot of microplastic fragments that would be detrimental to marine life.
The ban on fishing in the area declared a “no fishing zone” in the wake of the disaster is likely to continue until the ship is moved away and it is determined that there would be no harm to the fishermen who fish in that zone, although fishermen were allowed yesterday (31) to fish outside the Zone, according to State Minister of Ornamental Fish, Inland Fish and Prawn Farming, Fishery Harbour Development, Multiday Fishing Activities, and Fish Exports Kanchana Wijesekera, who also said that the containers which had fallen from the ship into the sea were a major concern.
The question that now remains to be answered is this one: Are we willing to do our part to aid the effort of restoring the empathy that we show towards such disasters? Apart from sharing hellish images of the fire which rages on, and of the pellets which will undoubtedly impact thousands of jobs for fishermen, as well as cause the loss of countless cores of marine life, will this story too be one that is washed away under a wave of ultimate apathy? We need to develop more of an urgent need to establish accountability; one day, we will ruin our coasts, cities, and environment, and wonder why it is that nature heals only when we are caged in our houses during curfew and lockdowns. The answer is quite simple: Because human error is no longer around to destroy it.
(The writer is a lawyer, teacher, and political commentator of Pakistani origin based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. She can be found on twitter at @writergirl_11)
On the ‘X-Press’ track to destroying the ‘Pearl of the Indian Ocean’
02 Jun 2021
On the ‘X-Press’ track to destroying the ‘Pearl of the Indian Ocean’
02 Jun 2021
The beauty of living in Sri Lanka is the fact that it is synonymous with its beautiful beaches and relaxing manner of island life. It is known as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean for more reasons than one, and its beauty truly does stem from its intrinsic relationship with nature, especially the ocean. However, as is the case with most things beautiful, they rarely seem to be valued and cared for.
We as human beings seldom do our part in ensuring we protect what we view as just a “blue tank of water”. This ocean is in fact one of the reasons we survive and thrive. People do not realise the value of the majority of organisms within the ocean, and how much of the work they are truly doing to ensure our very survival. These marine organisms are the base of every marine food chain and without them, nothing else would remain; no fish, no extended food sources, no life.
Despite this urgent necessity to protect our oceans, we see that due to the rapid development that mankind is engaged in, disasters occur, thereby causing years’ worth of damage to the ecosystem in which they take place. 60,000 ships travel in and out of Sri Lanka annually, but unfortunately all it takes is one potentially catastrophic event to pose the gravest risk to the environment.
One such example recently unfolded as a maritime nightmare within the seas of Sri Lanka. A 2,700 TEU (20-foot equivalent unit) ship, carrying 25 tonnes of nitric acid, caught fire on 20 May off the Colombo Port. What followed from this horrific incident was even more terrible news over the next few days; the vessel suffered an explosion, and all crew were evacuated, with at least 10 containers (some feared to be containing acid) tumbling into the sea. Authorities issued swimming and fishing bans in the surrounding seas. High winds in the area fanned the flames into an even greater inferno, prodding environmentalists and marine experts alike to question how this incident even came to be.
Now Sri Lanka is facing its worst maritime pollution crisis in history, which is threatening to turn into the worst maritime pollution crisis in South Asia’s history, as tonnes of plastic waste from the burning container ship, Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl, is washing ashore. Fishermen were banned from an 80 kilometre (50 mile) stretch of coast near the X-Press Pearl as an international firefighting operation raged on. This ferocious fire was burning off Sri Lanka’s western coast for 12 days before it was finally extinguished with the assistance of the Indian Coast Guard. Over 1,480 containers, including 25 tonnes of nitric acid and other chemicals are on board, and authorities were taking measures to prepare for the worst case scenario of a possible oil or chemical spill, although thankfully that now looks highly unlikely.
The MV X-Press Pearl ship had not informed the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) of a leaking nitric acid container aboard the vessel when departing from India and had only notified them about the leak upon arrival within a short distance of the Colombo Harbour, according to SLPA officials. Speaking to The Morning, they stated that they were informed about the said acid leak a little too late, once the ship had entered Colombo’s waters and while they were preparing to assist it, shortly before the fire had broken out aboard the vessel.
“When the ship came to Sri Lankan waters in the early hours of 20 May and anchored about 9.5 nautical miles away from the Colombo Harbour, it informed the Port of the acid leakage in one of its containers and the Port was preparing to assist in a rework operation, which was when the distress call came from aboard the ship about a fire,” an official said.
Environmentalist Dr. Ajantha Perera has questioned why the MV X-Press Pearl vessel that was refused entry into the waters of India and Qatar was given permission by local authorities to enter Sri Lankan waters.
“No matter how much compensation we receive, it is not enough to restore the damage to our environment. The Environment Ministry should act more responsibly. Procurement of equipment and training of Navy and Maritime Authority officials should be done to prevent such disasters in future,” she added.
These questions that have continuously been raised over the past few days have been clarified by the Singapore-based X-Press Feeders, which operates the ship, through the statement they issued confirming the facts.
“Please note, reports that the vessel was denied entry into Hazira Port in India and Hamad Port in Qatar are incorrect. The ship underwent discharge and loading operations in both ports before continuing on its planned journey to Colombo. Applications had been made to both ports to offload a container that was leaking nitric acid, but the advice given was there were no specialist facilities or expertise immediately available to deal with the leaking acid,” the statement read.
Speaking to The Morning, SLPA Chairman Gen. (Retd.) Daya Ratnayake also confirmed that the Colombo Port had not been initially informed of the acid leak, and the stories regarding it not having been granted access to the ports in Qatar and India were indeed false.
The fact that human error with regards to not informing the relevant authorities about the acid leak itself has led to such a disastrous maritime tragedy unfolding in our waters only adds to the ongoing stresses already plaguing the country.
The greatest threat to the area now are the millions of polyethylene pellets washing up on beaches and threatening fish-breeding shallow waters. The affected seafront is known for its delicious seafood and gleaming beaches. "This is probably the worst beach pollution in our history," said Sri Lanka's Marine Environment and Protection Authority (MEPA) Head Dharshani Lahandapura. Thousands of military and security personnel in hazmat suits were seen cleaning the beaches of plastic waste and other debris from the ship, and the impact on mangroves, lagoons, and marine wildlife in the region is also currently being assessed.
Environmentalist Prof. Jagath Gunawardana told BBC Sinhala that the danger of these pellets was that they float and eventually break up in the sea, which meant that they would release a lot of microplastic fragments that would be detrimental to marine life.
The ban on fishing in the area declared a “no fishing zone” in the wake of the disaster is likely to continue until the ship is moved away and it is determined that there would be no harm to the fishermen who fish in that zone, although fishermen were allowed yesterday (31) to fish outside the Zone, according to State Minister of Ornamental Fish, Inland Fish and Prawn Farming, Fishery Harbour Development, Multiday Fishing Activities, and Fish Exports Kanchana Wijesekera, who also said that the containers which had fallen from the ship into the sea were a major concern.
The question that now remains to be answered is this one: Are we willing to do our part to aid the effort of restoring the empathy that we show towards such disasters? Apart from sharing hellish images of the fire which rages on, and of the pellets which will undoubtedly impact thousands of jobs for fishermen, as well as cause the loss of countless cores of marine life, will this story too be one that is washed away under a wave of ultimate apathy? We need to develop more of an urgent need to establish accountability; one day, we will ruin our coasts, cities, and environment, and wonder why it is that nature heals only when we are caged in our houses during curfew and lockdowns. The answer is quite simple: Because human error is no longer around to destroy it.
(The writer is a lawyer, teacher, and political commentator of Pakistani origin based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. She can be found on twitter at @writergirl_11)
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Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!