Sri Lanka's Marine Environment Protection Authority reports a significant surge in plastic waste washing ashore, believed to originate from another breached container belonging to the MSC Elsa 3, which sank in the Arabian Sea last year.
The Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) has documented a notable increase in plastic debris accumulating along Sri Lanka's coastline over the past two days. According to MEPA Chairman Samantha Gunasekara, the materials are suspected to have come from a container carrying plastic nurdles—small plastic pellets used in manufacturing—that has recently ruptured from the sunken MSC Elsa 3 cargo vessel.
The MSC Elsa 3, a Liberia-flagged container ship, sank in the Arabian Sea off Kerala's coast on May 25 of the previous year after experiencing flooding and water infiltration in its cargo compartments. The vessel was carrying numerous containers of plastic nurdles destined for various manufacturing facilities.
Cleanup and collection efforts have been ongoing since the initial incident. Gunasekara indicated that authorities have already retrieved plastic nurdles from more than 43 containers that previously washed onto Sri Lankan beaches. Following the latest discovery of debris, MEPA has notified the shipping company responsible for the vessel about the continued environmental impact affecting the country's coastline. The incident highlights ongoing concerns about marine pollution from maritime accidents in the Indian Ocean region.
