Salvage experts board fire-struck MV X-Press Pearl

Salvage tug ‘Posh Teal’ attempting to douse the fire on board the container vessel MV X-Press Pearl in the anchorage off Colombo Port yesterday 

By Asiri Fernando

A group of salvage experts from the Netherlands, called in by the owners of the fire-stricken container vessel MV X-Press Pearl, have boarded the vessel to assess damages and coordinate combating the fire, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) said yesterday (23 May).

According to the SLPA, the owners of the container vessel which was on fire in the anchorage off Colombo Port has called in a team of foreign salvage and firefighting experts to manage and coordinate the response to the incident.

According to the Navy, the Marine Salvors have also called in the Singaporean flagged offshore tug, the ‘Posh Teal’ (IMO: 9609794) to assist in the fire suppression. The salvage experts are from SMIT Salvage, headquartered in Rotterdam.

Two tugs from the SLPA, Navy and Coast Guard vessels continue to be on-site assisting in cooling the vessel. The SLPA tweeted that the contained fire reignited last afternoon due to wind and the presence of chemicals and flammable materials. The Sri Lanka Navy suspected the fire to be chemical related.  According to the SLPA, a team of personnel Marine Environment Protection Authority to obtain samples from the site to establish if there has been any impact on the environment. The Harbour Master Captain Nirmal Silva and Senior Deputy Harbour Master Captain Lakshi Wasantha also visited the site.

The MV X-Press Pearl, a 185-metre-long vessel, was en route from Hazira Port in India on 15 May to Colombo with 1,486 containers, including 25 tons of nitric acid and several other chemicals on board, when it issued a distress call while in anchorage, 9.5 nautical miles northwest of Colombo Harbour. The SLPA and Navy suspect that leakage of nitric acid may have caused the fire.