The Singapore-registered X-Press Pearl has been on fire for almost two weeks (Photo: Reuters)

The Singapore-registered X-Press Pearl had been on fire for almost two weeks before the blaze was put out this week. Oil from fuel tanks has begun leaking into the sea, devastating nearby marine life. Tons of beadlike bits of plastic have washed up from the fire-ravaged ship and created Sri Lanka's worst marine disaster in decades. The disaster may be worsened if the ship’s hundreds of tons of fuel oil spill into the Indian Ocean.