- The sinking of X-Press Pearl has not only caused environmental hazards but also raised security concerns, said people aware of the matter.
- It has raised suspicion about the kind of chemicals that the vessel was planning to carry via the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean Region.
The containership MV X-Press Pearl goes down with ‘secrets’ close to Sri Lanka, reports the Economic Times.
Cargo ship sinks
The sinking of cargo ship MV X-Press Pearl carrying chemical substances close to Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo this week has alarmed governments within the Indian Ocean Region because the vessel, lately made in China, was carrying objects that the homeowners allegedly needed to cover from the Sri Lankan authorities by stopping divers from attending to the sinking ship.
The incident has not solely prompted environmental hazards but additionally raised safety issues, mentioned individuals conscious of the matter. It has raised suspicion in regards to the type of chemical substances that the vessel was planning to hold through the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean Region, they mentioned.
In April, Sri Lankan authorities had expelled an Antigua-registered ship that entered the Hambantota Port without declaring radioactive cargo certain for China. The back-to-back incidents have raised eyebrows in Sri Lanka about China’s designs within the area, mentioned Colombo-based officers.
Doubts on vessel quality
The sinking of MV X-Press Pearl has additionally prompted questions in regards to the high quality of the vessel that was manufactured at China’s Zhoushan Changhong International Shipyard Co. Ltd and was newly commissioned.
The vessel was on its method from the UAE through Qatar, India and Sri Lanka en path to Singapore and had reported a nitric acid leak earlier than reaching Sri Lanka on May 19, mentioned the individuals cited earlier. They mentioned containers on board the ship had been marked “dangerous goods.”
Thirteen Chinese personnel from the producer on board the vessel disembarked at Colombo when the primary batch of Sri Lankan specialists was despatched to observe the vessel after hearth was detected. Subsequently an explosion occurred on the vessel on May 25.
Five Indian crew members on board the vessel have been in contact with Sri Lankan authorities and the Indian mission in Colombo. The Indian Navy and Coast Guard got here to the rescue of the Sri Lankan authorities following their request and the hearth was doused by June 1, however the ship sank the following day.
The vessel was carrying 25 tonnes of nitric acid and different chemical substances.
Basic rights petition filed
Meanwhile, the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ), an environmental rights group, and fishermen’s activists filed a basic rights petition within the Supreme Court in Colombo on Friday towards the Sri Lankan authorities and the operators of the MV X-Press Pearl, over the environmental injury attributable to the ship’s hearth.
The petitioners alleged that native authorities ought to have been in a position to stop the hearth onboard the ship, which was carrying hazardous chemical substances and plastics, and requested that mandatory steps be taken to detain the ship’s captain and crew and that acceptable prison and civil motion be taken towards the ship’s homeowners and their brokers.
The petitioners additionally referred to as on the federal government to make related legal guidelines and rules to stop such disasters sooner or later.
The CEJ mentioned the crew of the ship knew of an acid leak on May 11, lengthy earlier than getting into Sri Lankan waters and that native authorities shouldn’t have allowed the vessel in.
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Source: The Economic Times
