Large quantities of small plastic pellets, known as nurdles, are being washed up on the north western coast of Sri Lanka after the cargo vessel Elsa 3 sank off the coast of Kerala on May 25. The ship was carrying 643 containers, including more than 60 filled with nurdles. In the aftermath of the maritime disaster that has raised significant environmental concerns, the urgency for cleanup and awareness has intensified.

As the southwest monsoon weather and ocean currents take effect, nurdles from the ship have begun accumulating  along the Gulf of Mannar and its  beaches, echoing the disastrous MV X-Press Pearl accident that occurred four years earlier, which was the largest recorded nurdle spill. The arrival of these microplastics highlights the country’s vulnerability to transboundary marine pollution, a situation exacerbated by the lack of stringent regulations governing hazardous cargo and transportation.

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