Sri Lanka’s Marine Environment Protection Agency (MEPA) is expecting the remaining components of the containership X-Press Pearl to be removed by this week.
The second phase of the salvage operation was due to conclude with the removal of the wreck and a final clearing of remaining debris from the ocean floor.
The containership was anchored off Colombo in May 2021 when crews were unable to stop the spread of a container fire believed to have been caused by leaking or improperly packed chemicals. The fire burnt for days and the vessel eventually sank.
More specifically, during this second phase, the crews successfully cut the 610-foot hulk into two sections while also clearing equipment and debris from the deck.
The lifting operation was carried out in two phases with the aft section of the vessel with accommodation block lifted onto the Chinese Fan Zhou 10. The aft section has now been transported to Singapore, to be dismantled and recycled.
As part of the removal effort, the salvage companies surveyed and cleared more than a half-mile radius around the wreck site. While the wreck has now been cleared from the site, the environmental damage is expected to last for years.
The MEPA prepared the first interim environmental damage report in 2021. The second interim report was prepared this January and handed over to the Justice Minister
said Mrs. Dharshani Lahandapura, Chairman of the Marine Environment Protection Authority.
Mrs. Lahandapura further added that the preliminary damage is estimated at $6.5 billion.
That’s good .