Srilanka, July 20 -- On May 25, 2025, the Liberian-flagged cargo ship MSC ELSA 03 sank approximately 38 nautical miles southwest of Kochi, India. Carrying 643 containers-including over 60 filled with plastic pellets known as "nurdles" and several others containing hazardous chemicals such as hydrazine and calcium carbide, the incident rapidly escalated from a shipping accident into a significant environmental disaster. Ocean currents spread the spilled plastic pellets and debris across the Indian Ocean, ultimately reaching the shores of Sri Lanka.

The environmental impact has been severe. Plastic pellets and marine debris from the wreck have washed ashore along nearly 600 kilometers of Sri Lanka's western, northwestern, and northern coas...