COLOMBO: Police Media Spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana said the police will record statements of the captain and the crew of the fire stricken MV X-Press Pearl Monday (May 31) following a complaint lodged by the Marine Environmental Protection Authority.
A special discussion was held with the Attorney General Sanjaya Rajaratnam today with the participation of all government agencies investigating the incident and the Commander of the Navy to discuss future legal action regarding the fire onboard the Singapore registered container ship.
Meanwhile, the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) continues to investigate the damage caused to the environment by the fire aboard the MV X-Press Pearl, which was carrying nitric acid and a huge amount of plastic raw materials.
There were 1486 containers on the vessel when the fire started, 81 of which were Dangerous Goods Containers, including 25 tonnes of Nitric Acid, according to the operators of the container ship.
At present, the plastic and other debris from the ship are being washed ashore on the beaches south of Colombo and the disaster management center with the security forces are taking steps to remove the material.
Meanwhile, a Bell 212 aircraft of the Sri Lanka Air Force observed the current condition of the still burning vessel yesterday afternoon.
Navy Commander Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne said the fire in the ship has been controlled to a large extent and there is no danger of the ship sinking or splitting.
X-Press Feeders, operators of the container ship have reported that firefighting operations to extinguish the blaze aboard the vessel have further reduced the area affected by flames to small spot fires in the aft of the ship, according to an update on Sunday from the X-Press Pearl – Incident Information Centre.
Firefighting tugs will continue spraying and misting the vessel with support from the Sri Lankan Navy and Indian coastguard, who remain on scene. Salvors are also exploring the possibility of boarding the ship and making a tow connection so it can be moved. The salvos have established an oil spill response plan in case of any loss of oil. The vessel was carrying 297 tonnes of Heavy Fuel Oil and 51 tonnes of Marine Fuel Oil.
“As of 1100 Hours on May 30, 2021, Sri Lankan time, the salvors have confirmed that the vessel’s hull remains structurally intact, and there has been no loss of oil into the port’s waters,” X-Press Pearl – Incident Information Centre said.
Contractors meanwhile, continue working with local authorities on their fourth day of shoreline clean up efforts to dispose of any debris that has come ashore safely
“We remain fully focused on the ongoing firefighting and salvage operation and will co-operate with the relevant investigations into the cause of the fire,” X-Press Feeders said.(lanka page)
