Thread by @washingtonpost

Weeks have passed since the X-Press Pearl, a container ship, lit up the Sri Lankan coastline.

The ship’s cargo, now partly on the ocean floor, contains toxic chemicals and harmful items that could devastate local marine wildlife and fishing communities. wapo.st/3zuGKR7

Experts say the effects of the disaster are only beginning to take hold.

Lifeless fish are washing up on Sri Lanka’s sands, plastic pellets lodged in their gills. Dead turtles and birds have been reported on the coast as well.

(Chamila Karunarathne/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Aboard the ship were nearly 1,500 containers, dozens of which contained dangerous goods, including nitric acid, sodium methoxide and methanol.

In addition to the chemicals, the small plastic pellets pose a danger to marine life.

(Video: Sri Lanka Navy)

“This is not a problem just in Sri Lanka. In the coming weeks, this is going to be a regional problem,” said Muditha Katuwawala, a coordinator at the Pearl Protectors, a volunteer organization committed to protecting Sri Lanka’s marine life.

(Sri Lanka air force via Reuters)

To better understand how this happened and the potential effects, The Post mapped the ship’s path, had experts analyze its cargo, geo-located photos and videos of the debris on the country’s shores, and acquired models of the extent of its spread. wapo.st/3zuGKR7