Dr Sarath Obeysekera

The Core Problem: Fragmented & Weak Oil Spill Response

Sri Lanka’s marine pollution control today suffers from:

•  No dedicated national oil spill recovery fleet
•  Dependence on ad-hoc chartered tugs and foreign assistance
•  Weak spilled oil reception, storage, and separation capacity
•  Poor coordination between MEPA, Ports Authority, Navy, Coast Guard
•  Slow approvals that discourage serious foreign investors

Oil spill response is still treated as an emergency event, not as a permanent national infrastructure requirement.

Why the Spliced Oil Collection System” Is the Missing Link

What you correctly identify is the absence of an integrated oil spill chain, namely:

1. Detection & rapid containment
2. High-capacity pumping & skimming vessels
3. Onboard oil–water separation
4. Shore-based reception & treatment
5. Safe disposal / recycling of recovered oil

Sri Lanka has bits and pieces, but no spliced (end-to-end) system.

Without this:

• Collected oil becomes waste with nowhere to go
• Response vessels remain idle or under-utilised
• Environmental damage escalates exponentially

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Modera Harbour & Walkers Colombo Shipyard – A Strategic Opportunity Missed

Your proposal to repurpose the idling Walkers Colombo Shipyard at Modera is strategically sound.

Why Modera is ideal:

• Close to Colombo anchorage & shipping lanes
• Existing marine industrial footprint
• Suitable for:
  • Oil spill response vessels
  • Pollution control barges
  • Skimmers, pumps, separators
  • Emergency response hub for west & south coasts

Instead of debating Modera endlessly, Sri Lanka should declare it a:

National Marine Pollution Control & Emergency Response Base

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Foreign Investors Are Ready – The State Is Not

This is the most 

This aligns with global trends:

• PPP-based oil spill response fleets
• Port-funded emergency services
• IMO-compliant pollution control operators

Yet Sri Lanka delays because of:

• Bureaucratic fear of foreign control”
• Absence of a clear PPP framework
• No single empowered authority to approve projects
• Policy paralysis disguised as further study required”

Environmental protection delayed is environmental protection denied.

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Blue Economy: Words Without Infrastructure Are Empty

A Sustainable Blue Economy is not conferences and strategy documents.

It requires:

•  Pollution response vessels
•  Oil recovery & treatment plants
• Industrial marine yards
• Trained response crews
• Enforceable liability & insurance mechanisms

Without pollution control capability:

• Ports lose credibility
• Insurance premiums rise
• Transshipment business is at risk
• Fisheries and tourism suffer irreversible harm

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X-Press Pearl: A National Wake-Up Call Ignored

Sri Lanka learned—painfully—that:

• Hours matter, not days
• Waiting for foreign help is too late
• Environmental damage costs far exceed prevention costs
• Accountability without capacity is meaningless

To your question:

Are we going to let that happen again?

If nothing changes  Yes, we will.

Not because we want to—but because the system remains unchanged.

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 What Should Be Done – Immediately

(A) Declare Marine Pollution Control a National Strategic Infrastructure

Similar to ports, power, and water

Establish a 

National Oil Spill Response Authority

• Single command
• Clear legal mandate
• Fast-track approvals

Convert Modera / Walkers Yard into:

Sri Lanka Marine Pollution Control Hub

• PPP operated
• Foreign technology, local workforce
• Revenue from port dues & response contracts

Mandate Oil Spill Response Coverage

• For all vessels calling at Sri Lankan ports
• Funded via a small environmental lev

Environmental disasters are not accidents — they are policy failures

Sri Lanka still has time to correct course, but the window is closing as vessel traffic increases and ship sizes 

Regards

Dr Sarath Obeysekera