Rescue team clears toxic waste from shore after fire aboard X-Press Pearl
Moscow. 12 June. INTERFAX.RU – Sri Lanka intends to receive $ 40 million in compensation from the operator of the ship, which caught fire on May 20 and was extinguished only two weeks later, which provoked an environmental disaster. The Associated Press reported this on Saturday.
The Attorney General of Sri Lanka has sent the relevant documents to the lawyers representing the interests of X-Press Feeders. The authorities continue to work on assessing the damage, and the already requested amount should cover the costs of rescue work.
The Singapore-registered X-Press Pearl caught fire 18 kilometers from Sri Lanka's largest city, Colombo. As a result, hundreds of tons of oil from fuel tanks ended up in the sea.
There were hazardous substances on board, including 25 tons of nitric acid. Most of them were destroyed by fire, but the remains of toxic waste were carried to the beaches, and the chemicals that got into the water pose a great threat to marine life.
