A cargo vessel off Sri Lanka’s west coast, which was carrying tonnes of chemicals is sinking in one of the island country’s worst maritime incidents. As the fire-stricken MV X-Press Pearl was being towed into deeper water by salvage professionals, it began to sink carrying 1,486 containers, including about 23 metric tons of nitric acid.
Since May 20th, local authorities have been battling the blaze as flaming boxes loaded with chemicals have fallen from the ship’s deck. The fire erupted while the vessel was anchored off the island’s west coast, about 9.5 nautical miles (18 km) northwest of Colombo.
The MV X-Press Pearl’s quarterdeck was submerged in water as of today, Wednesday, a day after firefighters put out the 12-day-old fire. Now, any oil spill is a source of concern. This is being tightly monitored, however, and no leakage has been observed thus far.
Unfortunately, the fire did damage the majority of the ship’s cargo and contaminated nearby seas as well as a significant length of the island nation’s famous beaches. Fishing has been restricted along a 50-mile stretch of the coast, affecting roughly 5,600 fishing boats, and hundreds of soldiers have been dispatched to clean up the beach.
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