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Two years ago the freighter caught fire, causing what is considered Sri Lanka’s worst environmental disaster. The doubts of some specialists according to which the national courts could also have dealt with the matter. Meanwhile, the Minister of Justice denounced the payment of a bribe to hinder the trial.
Colombo () – The Attorney General, Sanjay Rajaratnam, today filed a lawsuit with the Singapore Commercial Court seeking compensation for maritime pollution caused by the X-Press Pearl, the container ship that caught fire in Sri Lankan waters causing what is considered the worst environmental disaster in the country.
On May 20, 2021, the Singapore-flagged freighter carrying 1,488 containers, 81 of which contained dangerous goods, 25 tons of nitric acid, 348 tons of oil and up to 75 billion small plastic balls (called nurdles, which used to make plastic products), sank off the west coast of Sri Lanka. Since then, the catastrophe has had major repercussions on the country’s delicate coastal environment, local communities and the economy, causing the death of large numbers of marine species.
According to sources in the Attorney General’s Department, “Singapore had previously been indicated as the appropriate jurisdiction to bring an action for compensation in connection with the X-Press Pearl disaster, given that the defendants in the litigation, including the owner, operator and the ship’s managers, have a business presence in Singapore as companies domiciled there”.
Sources from the Marine Environmental Protection Authority (MEPA) explained to that “MEPA provided the Attorney General’s Department with the information necessary to take legal action against the owners of the X-press Pearl.” Nearly two years after the fire, local authorities are still slow to act on the claim for compensation.” Sri Lanka would have until May 19 this year to file a lawsuit.
“Despite mounting evidence of damage to the marine environment, the Attorney General’s Department received cabinet approval to file a lawsuit in Singapore and not in Sri Lanka. This decision was taken against the position of several legal experts, according to whom the Sri Lankan jurisdiction would also be well prepared to process the claim”.
The MEPA sources went on to say that “a second environmental impact assessment report prepared by a designated expert committee had been sent to the attorney general’s office in January this year.”
The decision to prosecute in Singapore is controversial: “Some legal experts and state agencies say that Sri Lanka’s judicial structure would be more favorable to the authorities and help prove their argument that this is the worst maritime disaster in Sri Lanka’s history. Lanka,” said lawyer Anuradha Munasinghe, an expert in maritime law. “If the case is tried in Singapore, the latest maritime laws will apply, because the city-state is a major center of maritime commerce. However, the parties hoping for justice fear that this attempt will fail to obtain the $6.2 billion. of compensation, an amount that is estimated to cover the damage suffered to date”.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Justice, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, revealed that a new complaint was filed about a massive bribe that was requested to obstruct the legal process against X-Press Pearl and prevent the award of compensation. Rajapakshe, who instructed the police chief to investigate, said he had been informed that “a bribe of $250 million was demanded by one party and the money was sent to a bank account in the UK.”
