The fire that broke out in the forecastle area of the MV X-Press Pearl has now extended to the quarterdeck where the bridge is stationed, the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) said.
Issuing a statement, the Navy said the distressed container ship is anchored 9.5 nautical miles northwest of the Port of Colombo at present.
It has been observed that the containers and various parts that are falling overboard the distressed ship have washed ashore.
The Sri Lanka Navy along with the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) is paying special attention on debris washing ashore from the fire stricken ship and has launched a special security arrangement with the Sri Lanka Coast Guard to investigate the impact on the coastal environment and educate the public in coastal areas from Dickowita to Chilaw which are likely to gather more debris from the distressed ship. Similarly, the same arrangement is in place covering the coastline from Wellawatte to Panadura, the Navy said.
Meanwhile, a partly burned container has washed ashore at Thalahena beach in Negombo today and it is believed to be a container that fell overboard the fire-hit vessel.
It is possible that containers and other debris may fall from the distressed ship from time to time, and may reach the coast along Dikovita to Chilaw as a result of the current weather pattern.
The Sri Lanka Navy said therefore, the public and fishing community are cautioned not to get in touch with such elements as they could carry harmful chemicals.
In the meantime, Sri Lanka Naval Ship Sindurala as well as Indian Coast Guard Maritime Pollution Control Ships ‘Vajra’ and ‘Vaibhav’ have been deployed on the site where MV X-Press Pearl is currently anchored.
The Indian High Commission in Colombo has also issued a travel advisory to Indians living in Sri Lanka, advising them to refrain from going close to the seas off Colombo and Negombo.
“All Indians in Sri Lanka and planning to travel to Sri Lanka may kindly keep abreast of Covid related restrictions recently imposed by the Government of Sri Lanka. The High Commission of India will provide regular updates depending on the situation, “ it added.
Furthermore, the Police have launched an investigation into people taking items that have washed ashore from the burning ship.
Photographs have been shared on social media of people gathering the debris and packages that have washed ashore, despite being warned not to touch the contents. (NewsWire)
එපා කියන දේ කරන අපේ මිනිස්සු
කොළඹ වරායට නුදුරින් වූ මුහුදේ පිපිරීමකට ද ලක්වූ එම්.වී.එක්ස්ප්රස් පර්ල් නෞකාව තවදුරටත් ගිනි ගනිමින් පවතින අතර ඉන් මුහුදට වැටෙන භාණ්ඩ වෙරළ තීර වෙත ගොඩ ගැසෙමින් පවතී. pic.twitter.com/6DsL80BDCR
— Shehan Madawa (@shehanmlive) May 26, 2021