
As plastic nurdles from the sunken MSC ELSA 3 wash up on Sri Lanka’s northern coast, fears grow of a second X-Press Pearl-style disaster. Experts warn of ecological fallout, bird deaths, and toxic chemical threats unless urgent regional action is taken.
Sri Lanka is once again facing the specter of an environmental nightmare at sea. Tiny plastic pellets, known as nurdles, have begun washing up on its northern coastline this time, originating from the sinking of the container vessel MSC ELSA 3 off the coast of Kerala, India.
The unfolding pollution crisis has sparked chilling reminders of the 2021 X-Press Pearl disaster, one of Sri Lanka’s worst maritime catastrophes. That event crippled marine biodiversity and coastal livelihoods for months. Now, another disaster appears to be in motion.
According to the Indian Coast Guard, the Liberia-flagged MSC ELSA 3 sank on May 25 around 38 nautical miles from the Kerala coast, following a reported failure in its ballast system. Onboard were 640 containers, including hazardous cargo, 85 metric tonnes of diesel, and 367 tonnes of furnace oil. Thankfully, all 24 crew members were safely evacuated by Indian rescue teams.
Although an initial oil slick was quickly contained, the real environmental toll came days later. Plastic nurdles began surfacing on southern Indian shores and by June 11 strong southwest monsoon currents swept them across the Indian Ocean and into Sri Lanka’s northern beaches, prompting immediate concern from conservationists and public officials.
Padma Abeykoon, Additional Secretary at Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Environment, confirmed that mitigation work had already begun. “We’ve initiated cleanup operations and are coordinating a national response,” she stated. With high winds forecast, she warned that additional pollutants may still reach shore.
Indian authorities had earlier alerted Sri Lanka of possible debris drift patterns. Within a day, the first signs of contamination were visible starting from Sri Lanka’s northern islands to the Mannar coast, eventually blanketing beachlines facing southward.
The first visual confirmation came from birdwatcher Lahiru Walpita, who was monitoring seabird nesting sites in Mannar. On June 12, Walpita stumbled upon what he initially thought were white pebbles soon confirmed to be plastic nurdles, eerily similar to those from the 2021 disaster.
Walpita found over 20 large sacks of nurdles each weighing 25 kilograms scattered across a 2-kilometer beach stretch. Only two bags were torn open, the rest intact. “At first I thought it was a remnant from X-Press Pearl, but the quantity and condition told a different story,” he said.
He observed crows and an egret examining the pellets but noted that none had consumed them. However, his greater concern was for seabirds such as little terns and bridled terns species that feed mid-flight over ocean waters and could easily mistake the nurdles for food.
The breeding season for many of these birds coincides with the pollution event. Nesting sites in Adam’s Bridge Marine National Park, particularly vulnerable from May to September, now face the threat of nesting failure and food chain disruption.
Back in India, officials imposed a 20-nautical-mile fishing ban around the wreck to prevent contamination from hazardous cargo, most notably calcium carbide a chemical that reacts explosively with water, emitting acetylene gas and forming caustic byproducts lethal to marine life.
Sri Lankan officials reassured the public that the ship, lying 300 nautical miles offshore, doesn’t pose an immediate chemical threat to local waters. But, Jagath Gunasekara, head of the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA), noted that water quality tests are ongoing and contingency plans are activated.
Complicating matters, just two weeks after the ELSA 3 incident, another ship caught fire. On June 7, the Singaporean vessel MV Wan Hai 503 suffered multiple onboard explosions about 88 nautical miles off Kerala, carrying more than 2,100 tonnes of fuel and hazardous containers. The fire was reportedly brought under control by June 18, but the event reinforced growing fears about systemic maritime risks in the region.
Environmentalists point to the high durability of nurdles, which absorb toxins and accumulate in marine life, as demonstrated during the aftermath of X-Press Pearl. The chemical absorption increases their risk to both animals and humans as they climb up the food chain.
The similarities to the 2021 disaster are chilling. That incident released billions of nurdles, contaminated dozens of beaches, killed turtles, fish, and coral, and dealt a heavy blow to Sri Lanka’s fisheries and tourism sectors.
But this time, officials hope to act faster. Gunasekara emphasized that valuable research done post-Pearl has helped authorities better prepare. “We now know how nurdles behave in the ocean, where they tend to collect, and how they interact with wildlife. This helps us respond smarter,” he said.
However, Sri Lanka’s legal battle for compensation over the X-Press Pearl is still ongoing in international courts. And now, once again, marine pollution threatens to cripple its ecosystem. The country’s painful past could soon become its present again.
Unless stricter regional protocols, ship safety enforcement, and environmental monitoring are implemented, maritime disasters like these will keep repeating and the Indian Ocean may become a permanent victim of reckless navigation.