• Monitoring ops. being conducted including deep-sea inspections, coastal coral reef diving exercises  

The Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) has launched round-the-clock monitoring operations in the Southern coastal area to assess any potential damage to the Ocean and marine life following the incidents of the country receiving two Iranian vessels within Sri Lanka’s search and rescue region. The surveillance, which has been in effect since 7 March, includes deep-sea inspections and diving exercises near coral reefs to evaluate adverse impacts. 

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (11), MEPA General Manager (GM), Jagath Gunasekara said that no new threats to Ocean resources were recorded, despite the recent discovery of lubricants in the Southern sea area. “Two barrels were found in Hikkaduwa and Dodanduwa. We have not yet confirmed whether these are from the Iranian vessels,” he said. “On Monday (9) and Tuesday (10), we engaged in inspections in a few areas. We searched in the deep-sea on 8 March and on Monday, together with the Navy and Coast Guard officials and we also dived near coral reefs on Monday. We are waiting for the reports of these searches. Until then, we cannot tell whether there is any impact on the reefs,” he said. 

Following the incident where the Iranian vessel IRIS Dena was sunk in the Southern seas, the MEPA’s Chairperson, Samantha Gunasekara had previously informed the media that small patches of oil had been reported in the seas off Hikkaduwa and Dodanduwa, which were immediately cleaned and sent for further inspections. According to the Environment Ministry, four oil barrels had washed ashore along the coastline, suspected to have originated from the said vessels. Oil samples collected from the affected areas have been sent to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation for further analysis. Meanwhile, the Wildlife Conservation Department told the media that there are no confirmed reports of harm to marine animals, including sea turtles and other coastal wildlife, to date.