MV Sri Lanka Glory, a cargo vessel that went on the rocks at the foot of the famous Rumassala Headland in last week’s stormy weather, can only be taken off the rocks dismantling parts of the vessel, Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) General Manager Dr. Terney Pradeep Kumara told the Daily News yesterday. According to the Marine Pollution Prevention Act, the relevant shipping company has been informed to remove the vessel from the site, he disclosed.
“It is not possible to get the ship off on its own or pull it out to sea by use of tug boats,” he explained.
Dr. Pradeep Kumara said: “According to my experience, it is imposiible to pull the vessel back to sea. The relevant shipping company has been asked to remove the ship. Tug boats cannot be used due to the reefs.The removal of the vessel must be carried out under the supervision of the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA). We will monitor how the ship is dismantled and how to disengage it,” he said.
“The bottom of the ship may have been damaged,after hitting the rocks. However, it will take several months for the ship to be unloaded of its fuel oil cargo. The Bonavista coral reef has not been harmed. If the oil had been spilled, the Bonavista coral reef would have been damaged. However, the Maritime Environmental Protection Authority was aware of this and did
not allow the oil to be spilled. The only thing left now is to unload the ship. The Bonavista Coral Reef is far from where the ship crashed. But, the vessel may have damaged the sea floor. The sea is so rough, it can’t be explored right now. As the Minister, President Maithripala Sirisena and the Secretary of the Ministry of Environment have been constantly looking into this matter. The MEPA was able to prevent a catastrophy to the Bonavista coral reef due to their supervision,” he added.