Anchored just outside the Colombo harbor lies a disastrous, unprecedented burden that may claim many lives of beautiful sea creatures, habitats and ecosystems of the Indian Ocean, for many years or even decades. Though Sri Lanka is going through a tough time considering its massive hit by the 3rd wave of the Corona Virus Pandemic, never did another overwhelming incident like this ever ponder through our minds. Sri Lanka’s worst beach pollution outbreak in history may be awakening.
The Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl, carrying tonnes of oil, diesel, nitric acid and cosmetic and chemical toxic waste caught on fire 10 days prior, as it made its way into Sri Lanka’s premises. The fire, still spewing about shooting flames at every corner of the container, floats just outside the Colombo harbor anchored as it depletes away toxic waste, causing an oil spill, polluting the once peaceful coastal waters. Corals have dissolved, algae have died and mangroves are threatened in which various sea life forms inhabit. Sea creatures such as fish and turtles have washed up on shore after slow and painful deaths following consumption of microplastics deranged from the burning cargo. More plastic raw material washed ashore along various tourist-attracting beaches in Negombo and Uswetakeiyawa, which were scavenged by local residents. Plastic pellets, also known as ‘nurdles’ were found to be littered and deposited along beaches and are even predicted to wash away to further coastal distant shores around the island’s southern area and off-shore eastward in days to come. Due to its small size and buoyancy, the prevention of nurdle movement to vast bodies of the ocean both along the shore and off-shore will be difficult to handle. Due to the shortfall in removal strategies, this will leave a big impact on the environment in which food chains, turtle nesting and interactions exist, thereby leading to an ecological crisis. The cost of this devastating incident may leave years or even decades of work ahead, to efficiently bring this environment back to normal.
The local environment is at high risk from devastation and both local and international authorities are working together to bring a stop to the consequence. How has a ship that has been rejected by three countries due to its threat, was allowed to pass its way into Sri Lanka? Why aren’t there any sources of which could possibly give us answers to how this fire could have begun? This causes us to scratch our heads wondering if this was really an accident. If this indeed was an accident, who are to be held accountable? How will this affect the tourist industry of our country through which we substantially depend on? As the days go by, we get nothing answered and simply these get added onto the growing pile of unresolved questions in the country.
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