The Sri Lankan government wants to appeal to the Arbitration Court in Singapore. More than a year ago, the cargo ship burned for 13 days, releasing dangerous chemicals into the sea. According to experts, it is the worst environmental disaster in the country’s history, and the consequences will last for decades.
Colombo () – President Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed the Justice Minister, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, to take all necessary steps to file a lawsuit with the Singapore Court of International Arbitration. The Sri Lankan government will seek compensation for damage caused in July last year by the sinking of the MV X-Press Pearl, a Singapore-flagged cargo ship.
On May 20, 2021, the X-Press Pearl, carrying a cargo of hazardous chemicals, caught fire while anchored about 9 nautical miles from the port of Colombo. The ship burned for 13 consecutive days before sinking on June 2, releasing a series of environmentally harmful chemicals into the sea. Sri Lanka is now asking the shipping company for compensation for environmental damage.
According to experts consulted by , “The X-Press Pearl incident is the worst maritime disaster in Sri Lanka’s history and has had a significant impact on the country’s delicate coastal habitat, local communities and economy.” Also, “the consequences of this catastrophe will continue for decades, at least until the risks from the wreck and containers lost at sea are eliminated.
“In addition to the uncertainty regarding the damage to the environment,” the experts continued, “the complexity of the accident is due to the variety of contaminants involved, such as oil, dangerous chemicals and plastic. The spread in the oceans of the latter, in particular, “could have transboundary impacts that would further aggravate the problem.”
According to an expert in maritime law, considering “the claims presented by other countries for similar accidents” Sri Lanka “should be able to obtain between 5,000 and 7,000 million dollars”.
Sri Lanka received $3.6 million in July 2021, shortly after the ship sank, and another $1.75 million in January this year. With this last payment, the total paid by the ship’s insurer amounts to 7.85 million dollars.
However, according to one legal expert, “these funds are primarily used to reimburse the government for the costs of emergency operations, including direct damage and clean-up.”
Meanwhile, a prominent lawyer specializing in the environment revealed to that “Sri Lanka has failed to ratify certain conventions that would have helped the country bring claims for maritime disasters of this type and magnitude”.
The Center for Environmental Justice, a local environmental group, is also planning to file three lawsuits in connection with the X-Press Pearl disaster.
