COLOMBO — Beneath Sri Lanka’s serene waters, a pearl oyster cherished her pearl, living in harmony. But disaster struck when a blazing ship sank, poisoning the sea. Entangled in debris, she lost her treasured pearl. Desperate, she started to search despite the waves and found glistening orbs. Believing she had recovered her lost pearl, she embraced the glistening objects. Yet, they were not pearls, but toxic plastic pellets, part of the ship’s deadly cargo. As the poison seeped into her, she closed her shell one last time. The ocean, once her sanctuary, became her grave.

This haunting narrative unfolds in This is Not a Pearl, a short film by Sri Lankan filmmaker Tharindu Ramanayaka, which powerfully illustrates the environmental catastrophe caused by the MV X-Press Pearl disaster in artistic form. The film delves into the aftermath of the ship’s sinking off Sri Lanka’s west coast in May 2021, an event that triggered the world’s largest-ever spill of nurdles, the tiny pellets from which plastic products are made. A total of 1,680 metric tons of nurdles, from 87 containers, were unleashed into the ocean.

Sri Lanka has long been known as the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean,” not just for its breathtaking landscapes and rich biodiversity, but also for its famed Gulf of Mannar pearls, which were once prized commodities along the ancient Silk Route. For filmmaker Ramanayaka, it was ironic, therefore, that the worst maritime disaster in the nation’s history was caused by a vessel bearing the name X-Press Pearl. He recalled how the idea for his film took shape upon seeing a dead fish with a nurdle lodged in its gills, a stark symbol of the environmental crisis it triggered.

Describing his work as a cinematic protest, Ramanayaka said art can be a powerful tool for environmental advocacy. The film, performed as a choreographed expression by dance researcher Ama Nethmi, won the award for Best Film in the Experimental (International) category at the 2024 Big Syn Film Fest, the world’s largest sustainability film festival, held in London.

Lasting impact on marine life

Much like the film’s allegorical narrative, scientific studies continue to uncover the long-term ecological consequences of the disaster. A recent study, “Impacts of spilled debris from the X-Press Pearl disaster in Sri Lanka on marine plankton,” examines how toxic chemicals leaching from the wreckage continue to affect the microscopic organisms that form the basis of the ocean’s food chain.

The findings indicate that while phytoplankton, the ocean’s tiny plants, showed only minimal changes, their animal counterparts, zooplankton, suffered severe consequences. Sea urchin larvae, categorized as planktonic, exhibited stunted growth and developmental deformities, with 94% showing abnormalities at high toxin concentrations. Similarly, copepods, a crustacean class of zooplankton, experienced reduced hatching rates and increased mortality, raising concerns about long-term disruptions to the marine ecosystem.

Study co-author Chalani Rubesinghe, an industrial and chemical pollution specialist at the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ), said that even months after the accident, debris from the burning and sinking of the ship’s cargo remained toxic to all tested species. This suggests the environmental impact of the X-Press Pearl disaster will persist for many years, making it imperative to develop more effective strategies for mitigating such crises in the future, Rubesinghe said.

Legal battle for compensation

While scientific research continues to highlight the long-term environmental damage, Sri Lanka’s legal battle for compensation remains an ongoing challenge. The government initiated legal proceedings against X-Press Feeders, the ship’s Singapore-based operator, and its insurer, a member of the London-based association P&I Club. In 2021, Sri Lanka filed an initial compensation claim of $40 million, followed by an additional $6.4 million in 2022. However, these interim claims are only a fraction of the total estimated damage, which some experts have put in excess of $6 billion.

The case is currently being heard in the Singapore High Court, but transparency remains a concern, as public access to case details is limited.

Meanwhile, multiple parties — including the Centre for Environmental Justice; Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the archbishop of Colombo; and fishermen’s unions — have filed fundamental rights cases with Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court. Environmental lawyer Ravindranath Dabare, chair of the CEJ, told Mongabay that the Supreme Court may deliver a verdict before the Singapore hearing concludes, offering a parallel legal route to justice.

Sarath Iddamalgoda, a Catholic priest, has joined two fishermen in filing fundamental rights petitions with the Supreme Court. They’re seeking compensation for fishermen severely affected by the X-Press Pearl disaster. “We request that each impacted fisherman receives fair compensation as their livelihoods were severely disrupted by the disaster” Iddamalgoda told Mongabay.

Amid the slow-moving legal battle, the physical remnants of the disaster offer a visible reminder of its devastating impact. Nurdles continue to wash ashore, nearly four years after the sinking, necessitating ongoing cleanup efforts along Sri Lanka’s coastline. Samantha Gunasekera, director-general of the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA), confirmed that workers are still being deployed to remove plastic pellets from the most affected beaches. Debris, including entire containers, has been stored in warehouses, potentially for use as evidence in court.

Banner image: Sri Lanka, renowned as the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean” for its exquisite natural pearls, now faces an ironic twist of fate where the island’s worst maritime environmental disaster was caused by a ship named the X-Press Pearl. Image courtesy of Tharindu Ramanayaka.

Citation:

Rist, S., Ugwu, K., Sampalo, M., Karlsson, T., Rubesinghe, C., Acosta-Dacal, A., … Almeda, R. (2025). Impacts of spilled debris from the X-Press Pearl disaster in Sri Lanka on marine plankton. Environmental Research, 274, 121260. doi:10.1016/j.envres.2025.121260.