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Photos: Fire-stricken container vessel MV X-Press Pearl sinking off Sri Lanka
A fire-striken Singapore-flagged cargo vessel laden with chemicals started to sink on June 2 off Sri Lanka's main port, a senior navy official said, fuelling severe environmental concerns as the container ship still has several hundred tonnes of oil in its fuel tanks. Water submerged the MV X-Press Pearl's rear end a day after firefighters from Sri Lanka and India climbed onto the vessel and extinguished a blaze that had been burning for 12 days.
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Published on Jun 02, 2021 03:43 pm IST
Smoke billows from the Singapore-registered container ship MV X-Press Pearl as it is towed away from the coast of Colombo on June 2 following Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's order to move the ship to deeper water to prevent a bigger environmental disaster. (Sri Lanka Air Force / AFP)
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A tugboat (C) from the Dutch salvage firm SMIT tows the fire stricken Singapore-registered container ship MV X-Press Pearl (L) away from the coast of Colombo on June 2. The ship was towed some 9 nautical miles away from the Colombo port where it had been anchored since May 20, to prevent its sinking at the current position which would have caused severe pollution.(Ishara S. Kodikara / AFP)
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An earthmover removes debris washed ashore from the Singapore-registered container ship MV X-Press Pearl, on a beach in Colombo on May 29. The cargo vessel was carrying a consignment of chemicals and raw materials for cosmetics from Hazira in Gujarat to Colombo Port when it caught fire on May 20 outside the Port of Colombo.(Ishara S. Kodikara / AFP)
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Sri Lanka's Air force personnel remove debris washed ashore from the MV X-Press Pearl on a beach in Colombo on May 30. The entire western coastal line has become swamped with the waste from the vessel’s fire – mostly plastic beads which are harmful to the marine ecology.(Lakruwan Wanniarachchi / AFP)
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Vessels try to douse off the fire in the container ship MV X-Press Pearl, in the sea off Sri Lanka's Colombo Harbour on May 30. Large quantities of plastic debris have already inundated beaches, and authorities now fear an even greater disaster if the 278 tonnes of bunker oil and 50 tonnes of gas in the ship's fuel tanks leak into the Indian Ocean.(Sri Lanka Air Force / AFP)
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Members of Sri Lankan Navy remove debris washed ashore from the Singapore-registered container ship MV X-Press Pearl, on a beach in Colombo on May 30. The coastal area is known for fishing, and mangroves around the Negombo Lagoon -- a major tourist attraction and sensitive ecological spot.(Lakruwan Wanniarachchi / AFP)
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A Sri Lankan navy member pulls a sack with debris washed off to a beach from the MV X-Press Pearl on a beach in Ja-Ela, Sri Lanka on May 28. The plastic pellets, or nurdles, are used to make other plastic products and are a big source of ocean plastic pollution. Due to their small size, the pellets can be mistaken for food to birds, fish and other marine wildlife.(Dinuka Liyanawatte / REUTERS)
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