Sri Lanka recovers dark-colored field from sinking ship, aborts dive
07 June, 2021
A dark box from a container ship sinking off Sri Lanka was recovered but a dive on Sunday (Jun 6) to check for oil leaks needed to be aborted, the navy said.
The Voyage Info Recorder, also called a maritime "black box", was found intact and is expected to help investigators review procedures and instructions before an accident.
The navy said divers were deployed for a third time on Sunday to examine the fuel tanks of MV X-Press Pearl, however they were unable to handle their mission because of poor visibility and choppy seas.
However, they didn't notice all oil slick in the region, a navy officer informed AFP. He stated another dive would be attempted when the elements improved.
Sri Lankan authorities desire the black box provides information on the ship's moves and its communications with the harbour in the capital Colombo, where it turned out due to dock.
"The navy facilitated specialists to remove the VDR from the bridge which continues to be above the waterline," navy spokesman Indika de Silva told AFP.
The Singapore-registered vessel has been slowly sinking into the Indian Ocean since Wednesday after a fire that raged for practically two weeks within sight of the coast.
The ship, carrying 25 tonnes of nitric acid and plenty of plastic recycleables, was going to Colombo from Gujarat, India.
Tonnes of microplastic granules from the ship experience swamped a great 80-kilometre (50-mile) stretch of beach found in Sri Lanka. (Photo: AFP/Lakruwan Wanniarachchi)
Sri Lankan officials have said an acid leak since May 11 might have sparked the blaze. Ports in Qatar and India acquired refused to offload the leaking nitric acid, they added.
Police on the island country launched a good criminal investigation, interviewing the vessel's skipper and chief engineer - both Russians - and its own chief officer, a great Indian, and seizing their passports.
Authorities are actually bracing for a good possible oil spill following the stern submerged. There's been no signal of any leaks up to now, they added.
Tonnes of microplastic granules from the ship swamped a great 80-kilometre stretch of seashore declared off-limits for occupants. Fishing in the area was also banned.
Sri Lankan environmentalists on Fri sued the federal government and the ship's operators for allegedly failing woefully to prevent what they called the "worst type of marine disaster" found in the country's history.
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