More than a week after a fire broke out on a container ship off the west coast of Sri Lanka, gigantic amounts of tiny plastic particles and charred debris washed up.

Tons of plastic granulate mixed with oil and other debris covered beaches near the capital Colombo on Friday.

According to the navy, the fire was largely under control and the risk of the ship breaking apart was reduced.

In the resort of Kalutara, 43 kilometers south of Colombo, millions of plastic pellets washed up on Friday.

The day before, the crowd had already reached Negombo beach around 40 kilometers north of Colombo.

Thousands of soldiers in protective suits tried to remove the dirt with shovels and excavators.

Black plumes of smoke from the burning container ship “X-Press Pearl”, which is anchored in front of the port of Colombo, could be seen on the horizon.

The washed-up plastic particles are polyethylene pellets from at least eight containers that fell from the ship on Tuesday.

According to official information, the ship on which a fire broke out on May 20 had loaded at least 28 containers with these tiny parts.

The plastic beads are used as raw material in the packaging industry.

Fear of oil spill

The container ship registered in Singapore had loaded a total of almost 1,500 containers.

In addition to 25 tons of nitric acid, it also transported 278 tons of heavy oil and 50 tons of special fuel for ships.

Given the cargo, there is fear in Sri Lanka of a devastating oil spill if the ship breaks apart as a result of the fire.

The chief of the Sri Lankan Navy, Nishantha Ulugetenne, told reporters in Colombo on Friday that the fire on the 186-meter-long ship was largely under control.

The risk of the ship breaking apart has decreased.

However, it is not known how much oil is still in the ship.

The marine protection agency Mepa said an oil spill was a major threat, but the plastic particles could also cause huge damage.

"Sri Lanka is one of the most biodiverse countries in Asia and this type of plastic pollution, particularly microplastic, can have long-term effects," said Mepa Chair Dharshani Lahandapura.

"Microplastics are already a problem in the world's oceans, and this catastrophe here makes it even worse for us."

Fishing exclusion zone

The government declared an 80-kilometer zone off the coast as a fishing exclusion zone.

The owners of 5,600 boats would be compensated for their failures, said Fisheries Minister Kanchana Wijesekera, stressing that the seafood currently on offer in markets is safe for consumption.

The fire broke out on May 20 as the ship waited to enter the port of Colombo.

The reason was probably a leaky nitric acid container.

The 25 crew members could be brought to safety.

Four Indian ships are also helping to fight the fire.

An Indian Coast Guard aircraft checks whether an oil film has formed.

The crew announced that this has not yet been the case.

Last September, the giant tanker “New Diamond” caught fire off Sri Lanka and caused an oil spill.

It took more than a week to extinguish the fire on the ship, which had more than 270,000 tons of crude oil and 1,700 tons of diesel on board.

The government sued the owners for damages over the oil spill in the Indian Ocean.