Thread: Hundreds of dead turtles wash ashore in Sri Lanka after cargo ship wreck

Hundreds of turtles have washed ashore after a ship caught fire and sank off the west coast of Sri Lanka in June in the country's worst-ever marine disaster, a court in the capital Colombo heard this week.


A fire erupted on the Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl on May 20, carrying 1,486 containers, including 25 tonnes of nitric acid along with other chemicals and cosmetics. It sank on June 2 even as salvage crew tried to tow the vessel away from the coast.

The Russian captain of the ship appeared in court on Thursday but has yet to be charged in a case environmental experts say is Sri Lanka's worst man-made environmental disaster.


The toxins released from the ship have killed 176 turtles, 20 dolphins and four whales, Deputy Solicitor General, Madawa Tennakoon, said at an initial court hearing on Wednesday.


A video by a local television station seen by Reuters showed carcasses of dead sea turtles and countless plastic pellets scattered over the shore with several volunteers working to clear them.


"There were more than 190 items of cargo (on the ship) and most of it was plastic-based," Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera told reporters.

Hundreds of dead turtles wash ashore in Sri Lanka after cargo ship wreck, South Asia News | wionews.com

Jaysus what a fucking debacle. This is a new ship.

X-Press Pearl - Wikipedia

Obviously the vodka fueled controller of the navigation system pressed a wrong button or 2!

X-Press Pearl was built by Zhoushan Changhong International Shipyard Co. Ltd at Zhoushan, China X-Press Pearl - Wikipedia

Originally Posted by misskit

The Russian captain of the ship appeared in court on Thursday but has yet to be charged

Yeah, a Captain is in charge of his ship, but in this case it seems like the owners are and they are letting him be scapegoat.

The ship was also burning for two weeks and supposedly under control before it wasnt and then they decided to tow it to a safer area to sink, but failed.

Originally Posted by Grumpy John

X-Press Pearl was built by Zhoushan Changhong International Shipyard Co. Ltd at Zhoushan, China

Ah that explains it.

Originally Posted by TheRealKW

Yeah, a Captain is in charge of his ship, but in this case it seems like the owners are and they are letting him be scapegoat.

The ship was also burning for two weeks and supposedly under control before it wasnt and then they decided to tow it to a safer area to sink, but failed.

Yeah quite possible not the captains fault. regardless of nationality. I hope his company got have his back and support him. I recall a similar scenario in maranduque philippines , where a tailsdam failed and fucked up the boac River? The GM a Canadian working for Newmont and based in Manila immediately arrested. That was in 96

"176 turtles, 20 dolphins and four whales" is likely just a fraction of the deaths. Not all are going to wash up on beaches, and most will probably just sink to the bottom of the ocean, poisoning the bottom feeders that thought they'd found a feast.