25-Jun-2021

X-Press Feeders, operators of the container ship 'X-Press Pearl', report that caretakers salvors continue to observe a grey sheen emanating from the wreck; however, it has lessened over the last week. They remain onsite on a 24-hour watch to deal with any possible debris and report any form of a spill.

A specialised salvors tug has arrived from Malaysia to take over the caretaker duties and drones have been flown in and will be deployed onsite to help with the ongoing monitoring activities.

Representatives of ITOPF and Oil Spill Response are monitoring updates from the scene and are ready to deploy in case of any reported spill.

Ashore discussions are underway to provide an initial payment of funds to help compensate those affected by the consequences of the fire and resulting pollution and help cover clean-up costs. We continue to make machinery available for shoreline clean up but remain limited by the current Covid-19 lockdown in deploying manpower.

A seafarer injured during the vessel's evacuation will be released from hospital tomorrow and join fellow crewmembers at a local hotel. Meanwhile, select crew continue to assist Sri Lankan police with the investigation into the incident.