Sri Lanka Battles Plastic Invasion from Sunken Vessel

COLOMBO (News 1st); A large-scale coastal cleanup operation commenced this morning along the shores of Jaffna and Mannar, where significant amounts of plastic debris have washed ashore following the sinking of the cargo vessel MSC ELSA 03 off the coast of Kerala, India.

The debris, which includes microplastics and other synthetic waste, is believed to have originated from the Liberian-flagged container ship that sank on May 25 after suffering a hull breach approximately 38 nautical miles off the Kerala coast. The vessel was carrying 643 containers at the time of the incident.

Plastic waste from the ship has since been reported along several Sri Lankan coastal areas, including Delft, Mount Lavinia, and Chilaw, in addition to Jaffna and Mannar.

Jagath Gunasekara, General Manager of the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA), stated that discussions are underway regarding potential legal action against the shipping company responsible for the vessel. 

He also noted that the government is considering recovering the cost of the cleanup from the company.