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Ship disaster evidence kept hush-hush for case, blocking marine repair
Turtles and dolphins suspected to have died from acid burns, asphyxiation and other harm caused by chemicals. Pix by Augustin Fernando
Environmental experts blamed state authorities for mismanaging priorities and failure to save marine life over the X-Press Pearl disaster as the number of turtle deaths detected reached 200 with test results still to come on the cause of the deaths.
It appears government authorities are keeping information from their investigations within a tight circle in order not to impede court action against the operators of the X-Press Pearl.
“The priority should be to minimise the environmental damage but the authorities are fixated on a court case to obtain compensation from the shipping company, which should be done last,” marine environmentalist Prasanna Weerakoddy said.
He pointed out that marine life rescue efforts could be more effective if the authorities release vital evidence on the toxic chemicals carried on board the X-Press Pearl that has killed turtles, dolphins and whales. The ship caught fire and sank off the western coast in late May, releasing clouds of poisonous chemicals and plastic pellets into the sea.
Mr. Weerakoddy said he had found loggerhead, hawksbill, Olive Ridley, leatherback and green sea turtle carcasses washed ashore. These, as well as dolphins and whales, are suspected to have died from acid burns, asphyxiation and other harm caused by chemicals, he asserted.
The dead turtles that floated to shore soon after the accident appeared to have been burned by acid, with peeling skin and shells. Then turtles with bulging red eyes and open beaks were found dead, along with coastal dolphin species. Turtle bodies have also been found on the east coast – far from the accident site – and with them bodies of deep sea-dwellers such as stripe dolphins and melonhead whales.“`
The Biodiversity Research Circle organisation said it had emailed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera three weeks ago to express concern about the adequacy of postmortem investigations on marine deaths from the X-press Pearl disaster but had not received any response.
The organisation’s convener, Supun Lahiru Prakash, demanded the release of postmortem results due from the Department of Wildlife Conservation.
Mr. Prakash claimed the wildlife veterinary unit lacked adequate laboratory facilities and the Government Analyst Department also lacked capability and facilities to carry out the tests. 
He pointed out that if the cause of death of marine life was not determined the compensation cases filed by the government against the X-Press Pearl’s operators and skipper would go to waste.
DWC Director-General Chandana Sooriyabandara claimed his officers had recorded every detail of the turtle carcasses found washed ashore.
“We have GPS locations where the carcasses were washed, determined their species and sex and even have postmortem findings and other details,” he said.
As the DWC was working with many state environmental authorities such as the Marine Environmental Authority it had been decided only to share necessary information with each other and the court, Mr. Sooriyabandara said. Therefore, he declined to divulge facts and details in case this hampered efforts to obtain compensation from the ship’s company in court.
Reports from the Government Analyst were being awaited to formally determine the cause of death of marine creatures and to confirm whether the Xpress Pearl disaster caused the deaths.
Government Analyst Ms G. Ramanah told the Sunday Times her office was not equipped to carry out all the necessary tests of the dead marine creatures as it was not accustomed to handling matters regarding marine life.
Tests were being carried out with the equipment available as new equipment could not be bought due to financial constraints caused by the pandemic.
Ms. Ramanah also pointed out that as the carcasses had been afloat in the sea and started to decompose, the samples collected were not in prime condition.
The Pearl Protectors marine conservation group said environmentalists were restrained from monitoring the impact of ship disaster on coral reefs and the seabed as the Central Environmental Authority had declared the shipwreck site a hazardous area. In addition, the monsoon weather also made the process difficult.
“We observed a silty substance on the surface that appears to be oil but we are unable to remove it as the Marine Protection Authority (MEPA) has the authority to deal with oil spills,” the group’s advocacy coordinator, Maleesha Gunawardana, said.
She called for tests to be carried out on the chemical composition of the seawater to gauge the impact of the chemical and acid spill. This information would help environmentalists, marine biologists and others to take action to restore the ecosystem.
Ms. Gunawardena said activists, handicapped by lack of numbers due to pandemic travel restrictions, were collecting mounds of plastic pellets (nurdles) washed up along the coastline. The plastic – estimated at 70 billion pellets – was part of the X-Press Pearl’s cargo.
Environmental activist Pahiyangala Ananda Sagara Thera said he believed the carcasses washing onto shore constituted just around 15 per cent of marine deaths caused by the accident.
| Baby turtles face devil in the deep blue sea A turtle hatchery owner in Kosgoda, Dudley Perera, said he expected a reduction in turtle nesting in future years as a large number of adult sea turtles had been killed. “Even deep sea-dwelling leatherback turtles were found ashore at Pandura this week. These turtles swim thousands of miles just to nest where they were born,” he said. He said he was troubled about releasing new hatchlings into the sea knowing that large, robust turtles were dying but was also unable to keep the hatchlings in tanks. It was imperative to release hatchlings into the sea as soon as possible as they rely on the absorbed york of the egg to feed them until they reach deep waters.
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| 2019 elephant deaths a mystery unsolved by Govt Analyst Environmentalists fear the Government Analyst’s reports on turtle deaths following the X-press Pearl disaster could become as invisible as reports into the mysterious deaths of a group of elephants in 2019 in the Habarana-Hiriwaduna area.The Convener of the Biodiversity Research Circle, Supun Lahiru Prakash, pointed out that the report due on the elephants had not been released even two years after the deaths. The Director-General of the Department of Wildlife Conservation, Chandana Sooriyabandara, said the department had provided samples of the elephants found dead at Habarana two years ago but had not yet received back any information. Government Analyst G. Ramanah said many factors could have caused the delay of the report into the mysterious elephant deaths. “First, I have to state that we did not have necessary equipment to carry out all the tests. The samples given were also limited. Therefore, the investigations regarding the elephant deaths are still running. We are testing to learn whether the elephants consumed harmful substances,” she said. “I would need to ask from the group of officials who carried out the tests to ask reasons for the delay and of the outcome of the tests,” she said. She added that the department was handling many cases and was doing its best to carry out investigations.
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