COLOMBO • Sri Lanka is seeking US$40 million (S$53 million) in damages from the operator of a ship that left massive pollution after it caught fire off the country's west coast, officials said.
Ports and Shipping Minister Rohitha Abeygunawardena said yesterday an interim claim had been filed with X-Press Feeders, which controls the Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl. The vessel has been submerged in the waters off Colombo since June 2 after burning for almost two weeks and releasing tonnes of plastic raw materials that swamped beaches.
Sri Lankan environmentalists call it the "worst marine disaster" in the country's history.
"In addition to this (claim), we will also seek reimbursement of the cost of putting out the fire," Mr Abeygunawardena said, adding that the full damage to the environment was still being assessed.
Sri Lanka has sought Australia's help to study the impact on the local marine economy, which has been hit by a fishing ban imposed since the disaster.
Fisheries Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said the ban along an 80km stretch of coastline was lifted yesterday except in the wreckage's immediate vicinity. "About 20,000 families of fishermen were affected by the ban," Mr Wijesekera said, adding: "Many of the beaches have been cleared of plastic waste from the ship."
Officials said about 1,200 tonnes of plastic pellets and other debris scooped from the beaches were being stored in 45 shipping containers.
On May 20, the X-Press Pearl reported an on-board acid leak and caught fire just as it was due to enter Colombo harbour.
The fire was put out after 13 days, but the vessel's stern hit the bottom of the shallow sea when a tug attempted to move it to deeper waters.
Two on-board explosions saw cargo containers fall into the Indian Ocean, and plastic raw material later smothered the island's western seaboard.
"We will take another two weeks to remove all the piles of plastic waste we have collected. Only 1,200 tonnes have been stored and a similar amount is yet to be removed," an official involved in the clean-up said.
Sri Lanka is also investigating an oil slick just north of the Colombo port to see if it is a leak from the wreckage.
Operator X-Press Feeders said an inspection of the wreck found no oil leaks from the ship's fuel tanks, but water in the area had become discoloured since the vessel sank.
X-Press Feeders has deployed representatives from the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation and Oil Spill Response to monitor for any oil spills and help with the clean-up of beaches.
Sri Lankan environmentalists last week sued the government and the ship's operator for allegedly failing to prevent the disaster.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
