Oil barrels and debris washed ashore on Sri Lanka’s southern coast after IRIS Dena attack

Colombo, March 9 (Daily Mirror) - Several oil barrels and suspicious debris have washed ashore along Sri Lanka’s southern coastline a few days after the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena was torpedoed and sunk by the United States Navy submarine in seas off the coast of Galle.

The debris was reported in the coastal areas of Hikkaduwa and Dodanduwa.

Chairman of the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA), Samantha Gunasekara, confirmed that several oil barrels and other debris had washed ashore along the southern coast.

According to MEPA, local fishermen first reported sightings of oil patches in the sea on Saturday morning. By Sunday, authorities had recovered five barrels from the shoreline. While some barrels were intact, others were severely damaged and leaking a substance suspected to be lubricant oil.

Gunasekara said the barrels carried no visible markings, serial numbers or letters, making it difficult to immediately determine their origin or identify of the vessel they may have come from.

In addition to the barrels, authorities also discovered parts of a burnt support boat and a life-saving craft among the debris along the coast.

The Chairman said that MEPA officials have collected oil samples from the affected areas for testing. Initial laboratory analysis at MEPA’s facility in Galle indicated that the substance is lubricant oil. Additional samples have been sent to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation for further chemical analysis.

Gunasekara said that about 99 percent of the visible oil patches along the beaches have already been cleared using specialized absorbent materials to prevent further environmental damage, particularly to the sensitive coral reef ecosystem near Hikkaduwa.