Photo credit: ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP via Getty Images
Sri Lankan police released the captain of the MV X-Press Pearl container ship, which caught fire and caused a major environmental disaster along Sri Lanka’s coast earlier this month.
Russian national Vitaly Tyutkalo, the ship’s captain, was released on bail earlier this week, after being arrested by the Sri Lankan Criminal Investigations Department (CID) last week, and told he was to be charged for marine pollution.
The passports of the ship’s chief engineer, Oleg Sadilenko and the Chief officer, Peter Anish, were seized alongside Tyutkalo’s, as they await their court hearing on July 1.
A police official reported, “No formal charges were laid, but he was produced before court on suspicion that he has committed an offence under the Marine Pollution Prevention Act.”
The Sri Lankan government sent an “interim claim” to the operator of the vessel, requesting $40 million in reparations because of the tonnes of microplastics that have washed ashore, causing what officials described as the “worst marine disaster” in the country’s history.
This week, fishermen and locals across the North-East complained that wildlife, such as whales, have been washing up across seas because of the impact of the accident.
Sri Lankan authorities have cautioned locals to avoid debris because it is potentially highly toxic, and fishing was banned within a 50-mile radius, creating hardships for local fishermen. Environmentalists anticipate the damages may last for hundreds of years.
The police discovered that local agent of X-Press Pearl deleted vital emails prior to the investigation and a state prosecutor has disclosed that the crew was aware of a leaking container of nitric acid in the hold, information that failed to reach local authorities in Sri Lanka.
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