Sri Lanka announced an investigation Thursday into a possible oil slick reported off its west coast where a container ship is submerged after burning for 13 days.

Coast Conservation Minister Nalaka Godahewa said local experts were asked to examine an oil patch of about 0.35 square kilometres (0.13 square miles) where MV X-Press Pearl ran aground earlier this month.

"I visited the area by boat yesterday and what we noticed was a thin film of oil which looked like diesel," Godahewa told reporters in Colombo. "It did not look like bunker oil, but we have asked our experts to examine."

The X-Press Pearl reported an onboard acid leak and caught fire just as it was due to enter the Colombo harbour on May 20.

The fire was put out after 13 days, but the vessel's stern hit the bottom of the shallow sea when a tug attempted to move it to deeper waters.

The operator of the vessel, X-Press Feeders, said inspection of the wreck found no oil leaks from the ship's fuel tanks, but water in the area was discoloured since the container carrier submerged on June 2.

"A grey sheen has been observed emanating from the vessel, and water samples are currently being tested," X-Press Feeders said in a statement.

"Discolouration of the sea has been apparent since the vessel's stern became submerged, and the remnants of the cargo in the 1,486 containers that were onboard were exposed to water."

Sri Lankan authorities are bracing for a possible oil spill from the submerged wreck or some 350 tonnes of bunker oil thought to be still in its fuel tanks.

X-Press Feeders have already deployed representatives from the International Tankers Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF) and Oil Spill Response (OSR) to monitor any oil spill and help with the clean up of beaches.

Godahewa said five vessels, including two Indian Coast Guard ships equipped to deal with oil spills, were anchored around the sinking vessel, but none reported a leakage from the submerged wreck.

Tonnes of microplastic granules from the ship swamped an 80-kilometre (50-mile) stretch of beach declared off-limits for residents. Fishing in the area has been banned.

Sri Lankan environmentalists last week sued the government and the ship's operators for allegedly failing to prevent what they called the "worst marine disaster" in the country's history.

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Sri Lanka sued over ship disaster as possible oil spill looms
Colombo (AFP) June 4, 2021
Environmentalists on Friday sued the Sri Lankan government and operators of a container ship loaded with chemicals and plastic that burned offshore for almost two weeks, as international experts prepared to deal with a possible oil spill. The private Centre for Environment Justice (CEJ) petitioned the Supreme Court alleging that local authorities should have been able to prevent what they called the "worst marine disaster" in Sri Lanka's history. The Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl has bee ... read more