X‐Press Pearl Disaster

The MV X-Press Pearl disaster severely affected many sensitive coastal and marine environments and tourism areas in the Indian Ocean. The coastal and marine areas on the west coast of Sri Lanka were covered with tons of plastic nurdles and the remains of burned plastic in a very short time after the MV X-Press Pearl disaster. The vessel transported 1486 containers of mixed cargo, including 81 containers of dangerous goods. It included 25 tons of nitric acid, sodium hydroxide, methanol, 9700 tons of epoxy resins and other chemicals, and in particular, more than 1750 tons of plastic pellets (roughly 84 billion low-density polyethylene nurdles) and about 300 tons of fuel in its tanks. Large numbers of turtles, dolphins, and whales died due to hazardous chemicals, extreme heat, and oil spills. In addition, plastic nurdles can be degraded into microplastics under the influence of ultraviolet irradiation and abrasion against beach sand. Furthermore, heavy metals can be contaminated in beach sediments. These processes can thus cause the ingestion of microplastics and heavy metals in a wide range of marine organisms and may bioaccumulate in humans through seafood and salt. The X-Press Pearl disaster is considered the worst chemical and plastic-related marine disaster in Sri Lanka, and its impact has spread over a large area, including the coastlines of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Somalia. Therefore, the impact of the MV X-Press Pearl naval disaster will persist in the Indian Ocean environment for several centuries.