Cargo ship sinks off Sri Lanka amid fears of environmental disaster

A chemical-laden cargo ship is sinking off the coast of Sri Lanka amid fears of a major environmental disaster.

Hundreds of tonnes of engine oil could possibly leak into the sea if the ship sinks, with a devastating impact on marine life.

Sri Lankan and India have been working together over the past days in an attempt to put out the fire and prevent the ship from breaking up and sinking.

X-Press Shipping – the Singapore based company which owns the vessel – confirmed the crew had been aware of the leak, but say they were denied permission by both Qatar and India to leave the ship there before the fire broke out.

The fact that Sri Lanka allowed the vessel to enter the country’s waters after it was rejected by two other nations has led to widespread public anger.

Officials have now lodged a police complaint against the captain of the ship.

Sri Lanka police on Tuesday said they questioned the captain and the engineer of the shop for more than 14 hours.