are trying to contain hundreds of tonnes of oil which is pouring from a stricken cargo ship, adding to a major environmental disaster. the container ship caught fire two weeks ago, and huge quantities of plastic beads on board have already spread along sri lanka s western coastline, polluting prisine beaches and threatening the country s fishing industry, as secunder kermani reports. an environmental disaster that only looks to be getting worse. after a fire broke out around two weeks ago, this huge ship, the x press pearl, is sinking. desperate efforts to tow it further away from sri lanka s western coastline have failed, with part of the boat striking against the sea bed. millions of plastic pellets that were being transported have already contaminated sri lanka s beaches. clean up operations are under way, but the tiny pellets used to manufacture everyday products