The ship is sinking near Sri Lanka, people are getting angry
A cargo ship laden with chemicals is on the verge of sinking off the coast of Sri Lanka. Due to this, serious damage to the environment is being feared.
Register X-Press Pearl in Singapore was on fire for the past two weeks.
It is feared that now hundreds of tons of engine oil seeping from it and reaching the sea can pose a great danger to the sea creatures.
The navies of Sri Lanka and India had been trying to extinguish the fire together for the last few days, so that it would not break and drown.
But due to the strong waves and monsoon winds rising in the sea, there were many difficulties in this work.
what is the plan now
Sri Lanka’s navy spokesman, Captain Indika Silva, told the BBC: “The ship is sinking. Efforts are on to steer it to the deep sea before sinking, so that the waters of the coastal area are not contaminated.”
The coastal area near the city of Negombo in Sri Lanka is one of the oldest beaches in the country. Oil and debris are being seen here for the last few days.
Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Fisheries has banned the movement of ships from Negombo Bay and fishing from Panadura to Negombo with immediate effect. Earlier the company has said that the ship is sinking at its current location.
He also said that all emergency precautionary measures are being taken to avoid damage to the Gulf and its surrounding area from any debris or leaking oil.
The ship’s owner is Singapore-based X-Press Shipping. The company has confirmed that the ship’s crew were aware of the leak.
According to the company, employees told that Qatar and India had not allowed them to leave the ship before the fire broke out on the ship.
Anger among the people of Sri Lanka
After not giving permission from two countries, Sri Lanka allowed this ship to come into its border. There has been a lot of anger among the general public since this fact came to the fore.
The authorities have filed a police complaint against the captain of the ship. The captain and other crew members were rescued last week. On Tuesday, Sri Lankan police said they had questioned the ship’s captain and engineer for 14 hours.
At the same time, after the order issued by a court, the captain, chief engineer and other engineers of the ship cannot leave the country. This Singapore-flagged cargo ship had informed about the fire caused by a chemical leak from one of its containers, after which it is standing at the port of Colombo.
The 186-metre-long cargo ship of X-Press Feeders, the world’s largest feeder operator company, was carrying a total of 1,486 containers.
Among them were many other chemicals and cosmetics including 25 tonnes of nitric acid. This ship left from Hazira Port in India on 15 May 2021.
