News
Poisonous cargo from worst maritime disaster being recovered
Sunken containers from the chemical-laden Singapore-flagged X-Press Pearl cargo vessel that caught fire and caused the worst maritime disaster in Sri Lankan waters in May are now being salvaged by a Chinese company.
The Shanghai Salvage Company has been contracted by Express Feeders, the owners of the ship that caught fire and exploded spilling its toxic cargo which then washed up on to beaches and also spread in the ocean. Dead fish and marine creatures such as turtles began washing up on Sri Lanka’s beaches.
Some containers with dangerous chemicals and plastic pellets fell overboard. An oil slick of more than 3 kilometres was seen from June 8 as detected by the European Maritime Safety Agency and it was confirmed to have a “tar like consistency. By June 17, the ship’s back end had settled on the seabed at a low depth. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sought technical support from the UN Resident Coordinator and the UN Environment Programme Executive Director at the time. And they sent a joint team from June 16-30 to assist the Marine Environmental Protection Authority.
The ship had 1,486 containers and 81 had dangerous goods including 25 tonnes of nitric acid, caustic soda (1,040 tonnes), and methanol. In addition, there was 9,700 tonnes of potentially toxic epoxy resins on board in 349 containers, the UN team has reported. The ship also had bunker oil.
The ship anchored in the outer harbour limits of Sri Lanka Port Authority in the early hours of May 20 and smoke was seen the same day. It had sailed from the port of Hazira, India, on May 15. Explosions were seen on May 22 and the ship was on fire. Within three days the whole vessel was ablaze. The Indian Coastguard came to assist.
“The debris is no longer referred to as ‘container’, only large debris and small debris,” observed Marine Environmental Protection Authority Chairman Dharshani Lahandapura.
An underwater survey has revealed that there were about 400 pieces of debris. None of the containers has leaked into the sea as most of the material is “scrap metal” according to the chairman – which implies that they were most likely burnt in the fire.
The salvaged debris is being stored in
warehouses.
As for the sunken containers, all the authorities agree that whatever waste can be disposed of in Sri Lanka will be done in an environmentally responsible manner.
“I reiterate this, whatever we can manage and dispose of in an environmentally responsible way only, will be disposed of in the country,” she said.
The rest will have to be taken out of the country and this is a directive given in collaboration between MEPA and the Central Environmental Authority, which the owners have agreed to.
While no further animal deaths had been reported, Ms. Lahandapura, said that local experts have been joined by three marine biologists from Padua University, Italy.
They arrived in Sri Lanka last Sunday and held a three-day workshops at the Veterinary Research Institute in Peradeniya. The sessions were held jointly with the Department of Wildlife Conservation, the University of Peradeniya, and other stakeholders.
“One purpose was to get local wildlife officers to conduct the necropsies of the deceased marine animals,” Ms. Lahandapura said adding that this would enrich the report being compiled by the environmental authorities. Necropsies had been done on the carcasses of the last 14 turtles that were gathered. The carcasses are stored in freezers in the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) awaiting study. The carcass of a whale is also stored and authorities hope to make this a learning experience for wildlife and NARA officers.
“This won’t be the last time we’ll need this expertise so we have to make sure we invest in expertise in preparation for the future,” she insisted. MEPA is taking the lead on the matter and the experts are coordinated by Dr. Lalith Ekanayake. The experts contributed to the local training free of charge and MEPA will only have to incur the cost of the logistics, Ms. Lahandapura said.
The initial claim of US$40 million included actual expenses and forecast expenses. “We were advised to claim only actuals instead.”
No further payments have been made by the owners since the US$ 3.6m payment a few months ago. “They have agreed to pay a further sum within the coming weeks, however,” Ms. Lahandapura assured.
Subcommittees of the environmental damage assessment impact expert team made submissions to the MEPA on December 1, 2021. The first draft of the larger report will be finalised over the weekend following the compilation of the 11 subcommittee reports and the adjustments necessary.
Expert committee member Prof. Meththika Vithanage noted that investigations were ongoing despite the submissions. The areas of study which include but are not limited to plastic nurdle pollution, and marine pollution, are underway and damage assessment input will depend on this research and the models created by the expert committee.
She also added that a consistent list of what was in the cargo of the ship had not been provided as of yet, despite repeated requests from the ship’s owners.
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