- A Sri Lankan court hearing into the fire and sinking of a container ship off Colombo was told on Monday (Jun 7) that its local agent had deleted e-mails vital to the investigation.
- The Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl reported an onboard acid leak to its representative Sea Consortium Lanka who in turn failed to alert local authorities.
A recent news published in the Channel News Asia says that Sri Lanka agent deleted vital emails.
What did the Sri Lankan port authorities say?
A Sri Lankan court hearing into the fire and sinking of a container ship off Colombo was told on Monday (Jun 7) that its local agent had deleted e-mails vital to the investigation.
Sri Lankan port authorities had said they were unaware that the vessel had been leaking nitric acid since May 11, nine days before the fire started in Sri Lankan waters.
Ports in Qatar and India had refused to offload a leaking acid container which had been loaded onboard in Jebel Ali, Dubai.
Sri Lanka’s navy recovered the ship’s black box over the weekend.
Black box in tact
The Voyage Data Recorder, also known as a maritime “black box”, was found intact and is expected to help investigators review procedures and instructions ahead of the disaster.
Sri Lankan authorities hope the black box will provide details of the ship’s movements and its communications with the Colombo harbour, where it had been due to dock.
Sri Lankan police launched a criminal investigation, interviewing Vitaly and his Chief Engineer Sadilenko Oleg and Chief Officer Peter Anish, an Indian, and seizing their passports.
Possible oil spill
Authorities are bracing for a possible oil spill from the submerged wreck. However, there has been no sign of any leaks so far, they added.
Tonnes of microplastic granules from the ship swamped an 80km stretch of beach declared off-limits for residents. Fishing in the area has been banned.
Sri Lankan environmentalists on Friday sued the government and the ship’s operators for allegedly failing to prevent what they called the “worst marine disaster” in the country’s history.
Did you subscribe to our daily newsletter?
It’s Free! Click here to Subscribe!
Source : Channel News Asia
