Sri Lanka has extended the shoreline cleaning in its western coastline for six months in the aftermath of the fire aboard a Singapore-flagged container ship that was carrying tonnes of hazardous chemicals and sank off the country’s coast two months back, marine authorities said. The Sri Lankan Navy, Air Force and the Indian Coast Guard jointly doused the fire in an operation that took days. However, the ship sank off Colombo’s coast on June 17. Sri Lanka’s marine pollution prevention authorities have been made to extend shoreline cleaning for next six months. The Indian Navy had deployed INS Sarvekshak upon a formal request from Sri Lanka to carry out a survey of the affected area to ensure the safety of navigation in the area.

Source: The Nation July 16, 2021 08:03 UTC