Sri Lankan authorities demand fire-struck X-Press Pearl leave anchorage
The Sri Lankan Marine Environmental Protection Authority (MEPA) has instructed the master of the X-Press Pearl to move his vessel from its anchorage off Colombo and leave Sri Lankan waters.
The X-Press Pearl, the three-month-old boxship that was hit by a fire on Thursday evening, has been instructed by MEPA to leave Sri Lankan waters.
“The company that owns the ship, its local agents and the insurance agent were instructed in writing to take immediate action to control the ship’s fuel and chemicals from being mixed with the Sri Lankan marine system,” Dharshani Lahandapura, the chairman of MEPA told local media on Saturday.
“Although around 400 kilograms of dry chemicals were sprayed to contain the fire, given the difficulties in reaching inside the containers aboard the vessel, the containment efforts are not 100% successful,”Lahandapura said.
The 37,000 tonne vessel has 25 tonnes of nitric acid aboard and two tugs operated by the Port of Colombo are dousing the vessel in an attempt to control its temperature.
