It looks like a dying metallic dragon, the carcass of the massive MV X-Press Pearl container carrier that is now in danger of poisoning a corner of marine paradise in Sri Lanka due to a 330-ton oil spill. It is a dented and torn metallic monster that has already spewed kilometers of layers of white plastic granules on the beaches of Colombo and Negombo and that has mixed a mephitic chemical soup based on nitric acid, lead and other poisons that are already wreaking havoc in fish, turtles and birds of an ecosystem under threat. While the stern of this 186-meter-long colossus lies 21 meters deep, the bow still sinks, exhaling the last smoke of poisonous blue clouds, but part of the deck will remain on the surface, as the keel partially rests on shallower rocks. There will therefore remain a metallic witness to this serious mess, caused by human stupidity and errors.
It is an unprecedented ecological disaster that environmentalists estimate will cause, in the long term, more serious damage than the tsunami that scarred these coasts in 2004. On the beaches, soldiers of the Sri Lankan army sift the sand with long rakes, trying to bag in yellow and green casings the deadly plastic granules that are used to make everything from water bottles to the largest tubes. Now, the 78 tons of spherical pellets are penetrating the Kelani river system, the marvelous Negombo lagoon, as well as the docks of the port of the Sri Lankan capital. The tides and currents are slowly shifting the suffocating white plastic embrace to the beaches further south. “The plastic granules will stay in the environment forever, as they are not in the least biodegradable,” explains Professor of Oceanography at the University of Western Australia Charita Pattiaratchi.
The story of this wretched ship is soon told. It leaves Dubai for Malaysia with a cargo of 1486 containers full of poisonous chemicals of various kinds, plastic granules and other products. On 11 May she docks in Qatar. The crew reports some cracks in the containers carrying nitric acid. The ship is restarted anyway, explaining that there is no technical capability in that port to handle a chemical leak. Arriving in the port of Hazira, in Indian Gujarat, the MV X-Press Pearl is sent back to sea with the same excuses. On May 20, Sri Lanka grants permission to approach the coasts, when a dangerous fire erupts on board due to acid leaks. Black clouds rise amid tall yellow and red flames, while the crew of 25 sailors and technicians are evacuated without casualties. Firefighters and coast guards engage in a courageous battle with the fire that lasts almost two weeks, between frightening and continuous explosions. Rescuers are tested by strong winds, monsoon rains and rough seas. It was decided to tow the burning ship as far out as possible to reduce the environmental impact on the coasts. But the keel hits some low rocks. The hull breaks and begins to sink amid attempts to stem the worst.
After the escape of polluting granules and poisonous acid, it is now feared that the 330,000 tons of fuel and lubricant will leak. “We will use floating barriers around the vessel and at strategic locations and diffuser spray to dilute the oil stain,” promises Sri Lankan Fisheries Minister Kanchana Wijesekera. Fishing was prohibited for a radius of 80 kilometers. “The survival of four thousand three hundred families in my village is at risk,” protests Denzil Fernando, of the fishermen’s union. And there are many other cases like yours along the coasts of this great island. The Coast Guard has mobilized six thousand fishing boats to clean up the seas, but it is a fight against time with a very difficult outcome. And what little it can do against the oil spill.
The Sri Lankan government has opened an investigation to find out who authorized the approach of such a dangerously damaged ship and has promised to initiate legal action against the Singaporean shipowner, X-press Shipping. The captain, engineer and assistant engineer of the container port has been forbidden to leave Sri Lanka, waiting to clarify the responsibilities of this environmental disaster that threatens to seriously damage a tourist paradise for years, ruining the lives of tens of thousands of fishermen.