By: Isuru Parakrama
October 17, Colombo (LNW): The Maritime Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) has revealed that a staggering 26 ships contributed to pollution in Sri Lankan waters over the past year, based on findings from a satellite monitoring initiative conducted in partnership with the French government.
This project utilises cutting-edge satellite technology to track and analyse instances of maritime contamination, providing critical insights into the state of the nation’s marine environment.
Amongst the most significant incidents impacting Sri Lanka’s marine ecosystem are the catastrophic shipwrecks of the New Diamond and the X-Press Pearl. In September 2020, the New Diamond, which caught fire and subsequently sank 38 nautical miles off the east coast, and the X-Press Pearl, a Singapore-registered vessel that sank near Colombo Port after a fire in May 2021, both inflicted severe and lasting damage to marine life and coastal regions.
These disasters highlighted the vulnerabilities of Sri Lanka’s waters and the need for stringent environmental protections.
In light of these environmental calamities, MEPA, with assistance from a French firm, initiated a pilot project aimed at monitoring fuel spills in the nation’s waters using advanced satellite technology.
This initiative has yielded alarming results, confirming that 26 vessels entering Sri Lankan waters have contributed to the pollution crisis over the last year.
Project Manager Oliver Germane commented on the findings, stating, “When we presented this report to various stakeholders, they were taken aback by the sheer volume of pollution detected. In total, we identified 115 instances of pollution over the span of 12 months, indicating that each time we capture an image, there is over a 50% chance of identifying pollution in that image.”
Germane further elaborated on the scale of the pollution, estimating that more than 6 million litres of pollutants were released into Sri Lankan waters throughout the year.
This equates to roughly 500,000 litres of pollutants entering the marine environment each month.
Notably, he pointed out that the pollution resulting from the X-Press Pearl incident alone was estimated at 350,000 litres, suggesting that similar volumes of pollutants are being introduced into the waters monthly from various sources.
Moreover, Germane indicated that the project had enabled the identification of potential polluters in several instances.
“In 26 cases, we were able to pinpoint the vessels responsible for the pollution, which allows us to take necessary actions against these entities,” he remarked.
The MEPA is poised to take stronger measures to safeguard its waters, ensuring that both the ecosystem and the livelihoods dependent on it are protected for future generations.
