Sri Lanka ship fire mounts fear of oil spilling
International salvage experts go on frantic bid
Agence France-Presse . Colombo | Published: 16:53, May 27,2021 | Updated: 16:58, May 27,2021
Sri Lanka’s Navy ship tries to douse fire as smoke billows from the Singapore-registered container ship MV X-Press Pearl, which has been burning for the eighth consecutive day in the sea off Sri Lanka’s Colombo Harbour, on a beach in Colombo on May 27, 2021. AFP
International salvage experts and Indian vessels on Thursday joined a desperate bid to extinguish a huge blaze on a container ship off the Sri Lankan coast as fears grow that the vessel could cause a devastating oil spill.
Sri Lankan authorities struggled to put out a fire that has been raging for over seven days on a stricken container ship that is loaded with chemicals.
An international firefighting effort to put out a huge blaze on a container ship off Sri Lanka's coast will likely take days, the country's navy chief said Thursday, amid mounting fears of a major oil leak. But easing winds in the Indian Ocean will make firefighting efforts easier, Sri Lanka navy chief Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne said, describing the sea and wind conditions as "favourable".
Sri Lanka continues fire fighting efforts onboard X-Press Pearl vessel ANI | Updated: May 27, 2021 19:14 IST
Colombo [Sril Lanka], May 27 (ANI/Xinhua): The Sri Lanka Navy on Thursday said it was extinguishing the flames on board the X-Press Pearl ship which caught fire near the Colombo Port on May 20.
Navy Spokesman Captain Indika De Silva told Xinhua that teams continued to be on scene to douse the flames and the fire had been confined to the back of the vessel. However, he said efforts were being hampered by heavy winds and inclement weather conditions.
The assistance from India was in place on Tuesday, De Silva said. There was a threat of the ship sinking on location, and all efforts were underway to prevent this, according to the spokesperson.