COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s highest court has ordered a Singapore-based shipping company to pay US$1 billion in damages for causing the country’s worst marine pollution disaster.
The MV X-Press Pearl, owned by Express Feeders, sank off Colombo Port in June 2021 after a fire burned for nearly two weeks.
The 361-page judgment stated, “The X-Press Pearl... shall make further compensation payments as may be directed by this court.”
Environmental groups filed the case, accusing both the shipping firm and government authorities of failing to prevent the ecological catastrophe.
Initially, the company paid $7.85 million for cleanup and fishermen’s compensation.
However, in 2023, a London court limited their liability to 19 million pounds ($25 million), a decision Sri Lanka is appealing.
The vessel carried 81 containers of hazardous materials, including acids and lead ingots.
Microplastic pellets from the wreck polluted an 80-kilometre stretch of coastline, halting fishing for months.
Investigations suggest the fire started due to a nitric acid leak, which the crew reportedly knew about days before the blaze.
Sri Lanka has also filed a separate lawsuit in Singapore, though proceedings are paused pending the London court’s ruling.
The Singaporean firm has not yet responded to the verdict. – AFP
