X-Press Pearl slowly settles down

The burned-out container ship X-Press Pearl continues to slowly sit on the bottom off Sri Lanka, with rescue and fire teams continuing to monitor the situation as the disaster investigation continues. The owners of their ship also apologized for the disaster while defending the actions of the ship and its crew.

One day after the stern of the X-Press Pearl has come to rest on the sea floor, the bow of the ship remains above the water, but also continues to slowly separate. Sri Lankan Navy divers working with SMIT’s salvage team attempted to inspect the ship but were forced to abandon their efforts due to poor underwater visibility.

The rescue team as well as ships from the Sri Lankan Navy and the Indian Coast Guard that helped in the firefight remain in place and monitor the Hulk. They are looking for additional debris that could be washed away from the ship as it continues to settle. So far, they continue to report that no signs of an oil leak have been found. The ship had approximately 300 tons of fuel on board by the time it reached anchorage off Colombo, although some reports suggested that some fuel may have been burned during the fire.

Speaking to the ship’s owners at CNA in Singapore, Shmuel Yoskovitz, CEO of X-Press Feeders,
said he wanted to apologize for what happened. “I would like to express my deepest regret and apology to the Sri Lankan people for the damage this incident has caused to Sri Lanka’s livelihoods and the environment,” said Yoskovitz.

Describing the current situation on the ship, he went on to say, “What the salvagers are currently doing is monitoring the wreck and making sure that any debris or, God forbid, the oil spill is discovered quickly and dealt with accordingly. To assess the real situation, we have to wait for the wreck to settle on the ocean floor and then see what can really be done. “

Sri Lanka has also asked India for additional assistance to provide oil barriers, dispersants and tools to reclaim any oil that may leak for the ship. In addition, X-Press Feeders said it had brought in representatives from ITOPF and Oil Spill Response to oversee the cleanup and assist in the event of an oil leak. X-Press Feeders said although it was restricted by current COVID restrictions, it also supplied heavy machinery to help clean up along the coast.

Investigators continued to gather information about the ship and crew’s actions during the voyage from the Middle East and in advance of the fire on board the ship. You are now trying to retrieve the travel data recorder from the ship. They reportedly wanted to hear the conversations between the captain and crew about the chemical leak discovered in a container during the voyage.

CEO Yoskovitz confirmed in his interview that a leak had been discovered while the ship was alongside in Qatar and requests were made to unload the container. “The port authorities did not allow this to happen because they had no manpower or equipment to unload,” he told CNA. Indian port officials also denied the request to unload the container, but said Sri Lanka had been told that the ship was carrying dangerous chemicals in its cargo.

During the interview, he said that cargo leaks occur regularly but rarely become public knowledge. He reiterated that the containers loaded with ships, which were delivered signed and sealed, were dependent “on the declaration and professionalism” of the shipper to properly pack the containers and to make a precise declaration.

The mis-declaration problem has repeatedly drawn industry attention and has been cited as a cause of container fires on numerous occasions. In 2019, the National Cargo Bureau conducted more than 32,000 dangerous dry and tank inspections in the U.S. and found that nearly eight percent were out of compliance due to poor stowage / securing, misdeclared cargo, or other issues. In addition, they reported that during a safety initiative to inspect 500 containers, the NBC found that 55 percent of the regulations were not complied with, including 43 percent because of inadequate load securing in the container. More than six percent of the containers with dangerous goods were incorrectly declared.

(Photos courtesy of the Port Authority of Sri Lanka)