Fears of environmental disaster as oil-laden ship sinks off Sri Lanka

A chemical-laden cargo ship is sinking off the coast of Sri Lanka, sparking fears of an environmental disaster.

The Singapore-registered X-Press Pearl had been on fire for almost two weeks before the fire was put out this week.

Hundreds of tonnes of oil from fuel tanks could leak into the sea if it sinks, devastating nearby marine life.

The Sri Lankan and Indian navies had worked jointly over the past days in an attempt to put out the fire and prevent the ship from breaking up and sinking.

But rough seas and monsoonal winds hampered the operation.

"The ship is sinking. Salvers are trying to tow the ship to deep sea before it sinks to minimise the marine pollution but the rear area of the ship has drifted," Sri Lanka Navy spokesman Captain Indika Silva told the BBC.

Environmentalist Dr Ajantha Perera told the BBC that the sinking posed "the worst environmental scenario".

"With all the dangerous goods, the nitric acid and all these other things, and the oil in the ship, if it's sinking it will basically destroy the whole bottom of the sea," she said.

Dr Perera said divers should have been sent down to examine the ship before it was towed out to sea.

"The environmental issues will remain in our waters now," she added.

The coastal stretch near the city of Negombo - home to some of the country's most pristine beaches - has already seen oil and debris pollution for days.

Meanwhile, the fisheries minister has stopped ships from entering from the Negombo Lagoon and also halted fishing from Panadura to Negombo with immediate effect.

He said emergency measures had been taken to contain the damage and protect the lagoon and surrounding areas.

X-Press Shipping - the Singapore based company that owns the vessel - confirmed the crew had been aware of the leak, but said they were denied permission by both Qatar and India to leave the ship there before the fire broke out.

The fact that Sri Lanka allowed the vessel to enter its waters after it was rejected by two other nations has led to widespread public anger.

Officials have lodged a police complaint against the captain of the ship, who was rescued along with other crew members last week.

Sri Lanka police on Tuesday said they questioned the captain and the engineer of the ship for more than 14 hours.

A court issued an order preventing the captain, chief engineer and the additional engineer from leaving the country.

The Singapore-flagged container vessel, anchored off Colombo port, first reported a fire on board due to a chemical leak in one of its containers.

The 186m-long vessel - operated by the largest feeder operator in the world, X-Press Feeders - was carrying 1,486 containers with 25 tons of nitric acid, several other chemicals and cosmetics from the port of Hazira, India on 15 May.

Credit: The BBC