Authorities are bracing for a major oil spill off the coast of Colombo, as the X-Press Pearl vessel is slowly being swallowed by the ocean, and the environmental devastation it has brought along may be irreversible. Carrying 325 tonnes of fuel in its tanks, the X-Press Pearl caught fire 9.5 nautical miles away from the port of Colombo, where it had initially been anchored. Several containers had fallen overboard, dispersing tonnes of plastic pellets and other hazardous material into the ocean. The tiny plastic pellets have polluted beaches and threatened the ecological balance of the surrounding marine environment. “These plastic pellets are a little larger than your average rice grain.
