Burning of cargo ship may cause acid rain in Sri Lanka: Official

Sri Lanka's top environmental body has warned that the emission of nitrogen dioxide from a Singapore-flag cargo vessel could cause mild acid rain. Let us tell you that the cargo ship caught fire near Colombo beach due to bad weather last week.

The cargo vessel MV 'X-Press Pearl' was carrying a consignment of chemicals and raw materials for cosmetics from Hazira, Colombo port in Gujarat. The vessel caught fire at 9.5 nautical miles from the coast. In addition to 325 metric tons of fuel in the X-Press Pearl tanks, 1,486 containers were loaded which also contained about 25 tons of hazardous nitric acid.

"We saw that there was widespread emission of nitrogen dioxide from MV X-Press Pearl," Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) chairperson Dharshani Lhandapura said on Friday. This can cause mild acid rain, with nitrogen dioxide gas emissions during the rainy season. The official said that people close to the coastal area should be especially vigilant and make sure that they do not come in contact with the rain these days.

The MEPA stated that the fire has been largely controlled and the Authority is taking all appropriate measures to expedite the beach cleanup procedures to avoid the risk of contamination caused by the fire in the cargo vessel. . He said that the density of fire is decreasing. Two tug boats are still engaged in fire fighting missions. Indian Coast Guard ships and Sri Lankan Port Authority and Sri Lankan Navy boats are monitoring the situation.

Lahndapura said that they are closely monitoring the situation and at present, there is no sign of any oil spill. India on Tuesday dispatched ICG Vaibhav, ICG Dornier, and Tug Water Lily to assist the Sri Lankan Navy in dousing the fire onboard the container ship.