Sri Lankan officials said the country was facing its worst marine ecological disaster after a Singapore-flagged cargo ship caught fire near the capital sending piles of debris and chemicals floating onto nearby beaches.

On Monday (May 31) teams worked to clean the normally pristine beaches.

According to officials, the fire onboard the 186-meter vessel has also polluted fish breeding sites and mangroves around the Negombo Lagoon.

The cargo vessel - MV ''X-Press Pearl''- was carrying a consignment of chemicals and raw materials for cosmetics from Hazira in Gujarat to Colombo Port on May 20 when it caught fire some 9.5 nautical miles away from the port of Colombo.

Sri Lanka's top environment body said the country was facing its worst marine ecological disaster triggered after a Singapore-flagged cargo ship caught fire near the Colombo beach, fuelling severe environmental concerns. The scrap from the 186-meter (610-foot) burning vessel floated into Sri Lanka’s pristine beaches, some of which also polluted the Indian Ocean. The fishing breeding points and mangroves around the Negombo Lagoon, a major tourist attraction, were very sensitive and the resultant pollution could affect them.

The cargo vessel - MV ''X-Press Pearl''- was carrying a consignment of chemicals and raw materials for cosmetics from Hazira in Gujarat to Colombo Port on May 20 when it caught fire some 9.5 nautical miles away from the port of Colombo. The firefighting effort on May 21 was assisted by the Indian coastal guard vessels and an aircraft, in addition to the Sri Lanka Navy and Air Force. Apart from the 325 metric tonnes of fuel in its tanks, the vessel was loaded with 1,486 containers carrying about 25 tonnes of hazardous nitric acid.

Singapore registered X-Press Pearl vessel had been on fire for the past 11 days, and while the oil and debris from the ship carrying chemicals and cosmetics have caused a blanket of unmanageable marine pollution, there are looming fears of a major environmental disaster if the ship, which is still too hot from fire to get onboard or two, sinks. Srilanka launched a probe against the vessel’s crew for spilling a large amount of microplastic and carrying 25 tonnes of nitric acid on the ship before it entered the Colombo harbor.