All cargo debris outside the 1,000-metre safety zone of the X-Press Pearl wreckage has been recovered from water depths over 10 metres.
X-Press Feeders, the ship owner, released a statement this month, detailing an update on the recovery works.
Due to the monsoon season, salvage work on the newly built 2,756 TEU X-Press Pearl, which went up in flames off Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 20 May 2021, will be suspended in April before resuming in November.
Resolve Marine, which was contracted to recover the cargo debris, is no longer engaged in any offshore activities, and its chartered support vessel MMA Prestige has been demobilised and returned to Singapore. Resolve Marine continues its work onshore to confirm that all recovered cargo debris is processed in Sri Lanka according to the relevant waste disposal laws.
NARA (National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency), contracted by X-Press Feeders to survey the waters of less than 10 meters depth to identify if any incident-related debris can be detected and recovered, has surveyed 75% of the coverage area.
A local diving firm has been engaged to verify and recover those targets belonging to the X-Press Pearl, with works scheduled to be completed before the onset of the southwest monsoon season at the end of April.
The ship's Russian captain, Vitaly Tyutkalo, remains detained in Sri Lanka and X-Press Feeders is continuing to persuade the authorities to release him as he has been detained for over 10 months.
Tyutkalo is the only remaining crew member from the X-Press Pearl who remains detained in Colombo. X-Press Feeders said, “He has been away from family and friends for more than ten months, with the ongoing burden on him and his family taking a mental and physical toll. We’re providing ongoing support to the master and his family and hope to see him released and repatriated as soon as possible.”
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
