(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) – Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigations Department, which is continuing investigations on the MV X-Press Pearl container ship fire, has so far recorded statements from about 20 crew members and officials regarding the incident.
The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has taken custody of the vessel’s Voyage Data Recorder (VDR) which was recovered on Saturday (05) and handed over to the CID for investigations.
Meanwhile, a team of 14 experts from the Government Analyst’s Department has been appointed to look into the impact of the fire aboard the X-Press Pearl ship on the marine environment.
The team had visited the scene of the ship’s fire and began on-site inspections last Friday. They will collect seawater samples to assess the impact on the marine environment.
X-Press Pearl caught fire on Thursday 20th May while at anchorage approximately 10km off of Colombo Harbor. The vessel had travelled from the port of Hazira, India and was carrying 1,486 containers, including dangerous goods (nitric acid, methanol, sodium hydroxide and other chemicals) and nurdles (small plastic pellets).
