Sri Lanka is once again grappling with a serious marine environmental crisis as plastic pellets, or nurdles, have begun washing up along the island’s northern coastline.
The pollution has been linked to the sinking of the Liberia-flagged container ship MSC ELSA 3 off the coast of Kerala, India, sparking fears of a repeat of the 2021 X-Press Pearl disaster — the worst maritime environmental catastrophe in Sri Lanka’s history.
According to the Indian Coast Guard, the MSC ELSA 3, carrying 640 containers including hazardous cargo, sank on 25th of May due to a ballast system failure. The vessel had onboard an estimated 85 metric tonnes of diesel, 367 metric tonnes of furnace oil, and at least 13 containers of dangerous chemicals such as calcium carbide.
Although all 24 crew members were safely rescued and initial oil spill containment was achieved, the environmental damage worsened as plastic nurdles from the sunken ship began appearing on beaches in southern India. By June 11, strong southwest monsoon winds and ocean currents had carried them to Sri Lanka’s northern shores.
Padma Abeykoon, Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Environment, confirmed that cleanup operations had commenced and that a coordinated response was being planned. She warned that continued monsoon activity could bring more pollutants ashore.
Indian authorities had earlier alerted Sri Lanka to the risk of drifting debris. The plastic pellets were first observed on the northern islands and quickly spread to the Mannar coast, where they continue to accumulate along southern-facing beaches, raising alarms among marine biologists and coastal communities.
