Sri Lankan officials brace for oil spill from sinking ship

Smoke rises from a fire onboard the MV X-Press Pearl vessel as it sinks while being towed into deep

Sri Lankan authorities said Thursday they are preparing for the worst-case scenario of a possible oil slick from the burnt-out cargo ship sinking off Colombo's main harbour. The Marine Environment Protection Authority readied oil dispersants, booms and skimmers in case of a leak from the MV X-Press Pearl, which has nearly 350 tonnes of oil in its fuel tanks. The vessel, which burned for 13 days within sight of the island's west coast, has already caused the country's worst maritime environmental disaster, littering the beaches with huge volumes of plastic pollution. But now that it is sinking, officials fear an even greater ecological crisis if the ship's oil leaks into the Indian Ocean.