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The Ship Sinking Off Sri Lanka Looks Like A Lasting Environmental Disaster

posted by Fnord666 on Sunday June 06 2021, @01:03PM   

takyon writes:

The Ship Sinking Off Sri Lanka Looks Like A Lasting Environmental Disaster

A sinking cargo ship off the coast of Sri Lanka is causing an environmental disaster for the country that looks set to have long-term effects.

The X-Press Pearl caught fire on May 20 and burned for two weeks, but the fire appears to have mostly burned out. The crew was evacuated. The ship is now partially sitting on the seabed with its front settling down slowly.

Its cargo is the concern: The ship was carrying dangerous chemicals, including 25 tons of nitric acid and 350 tons of fuel oil. The ship's operator says oil has not spilled so far. But what's already having an impact on beaches nearby are the 78 metric tons of plastic called nurdles — the raw material used to make most types of plastic products.

Wave after wave of plastic pellets are washing ashore. The ship is about 5 miles from the nearest beach.

Also at The Guardian.

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Original Submission

• And the owners are getting away with it And the owners are getting away with it (Score: 2, Interesting) by fustakrakich on Sunday June 06 2021, @08:24PM (4 children)

  by fustakrakich (6150) on Sunday June 06 2021, @08:24PM (#1142459) Journal

  The article didn't indicate whether any action will be taken to make the owners clean up the mess. They just walk away and collect the insurance. Crime definitely does pay those at the top.

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  La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..

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• Re:And the owners are getting away with it Re:And the owners are getting away with it (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 06 2021, @09:56PM (3 children)

  by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 06 2021, @09:56PM (#1142486)

  How is that any different to what we do on land? There's nothing special about polluting the open ocean.

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  • Re:And the owners are getting away with it Re:And the owners are getting away with it (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Sunday June 06 2021, @10:30PM (2 children)

    by fustakrakich (6150) on Sunday June 06 2021, @10:30PM (#1142492) Journal

    We need to take our pound of flesh out of these polluters. This one made the news, how many thousands don't?

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    La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..

    Parent

    • Re:And the owners are getting away with it Re:And the owners are getting away with it (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 06 2021, @11:13PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 06 2021, @11:13PM (#1142511)

      I agree. The top brass of the company should be told that if they don't get it all cleaned up their grandchildren start getting killed one by one or whatever it takes to get these people in check. Sick of these companies pushing all the costs onto defenseless animals and ultimately the people of the world.

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      • Re:And the owners are getting away with it (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 06 2021, @11:24PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 06 2021, @11:24PM (#1142517)

        Bbb..but that's smart. Outsource rare earth mining to countries with no regulations and no worker protections. Win-motherfucking-win.

        Parent