For a long time, Sri Lankans have complained that the left hand of the Government does not know what the right hand does. And yes, there are ample examples to show such. However, the fact that such shortcomings are not readily addressed, and left unchanged is a sign of poor governance and lack of sustained public pressure for change.
It is no surprise then that there is a lack of cooperation and condition between the State’s prosecutorial arm, who advises the State on matters of law, and the state regulator on Maritime Environment Protection.
It has been reported that the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) has been unable to obtain the relevant instructions from the Attorney General’s Department to appoint a panel of experts, who were needed to calculate the environmental impact from the May 2020 MV X-Press Pearl pollution disaster. The shipwreck incident, which many experts believe is Sri Lanka’s worst maritime pollution disaster, has had a significant impact on the marine ecosystem along the coast and on fishing. The lack of synergy between the two State entities, both not known for transparency, will likely have an impact on the compensation claims Sri Lanka is pursuing regarding the disaster. According to the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Sectoral Oversight Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Sustainable Development, MP Ajith Mannapperuma, losses caused by an incident such as the MV X-Press Pearl maritime disaster should be calculated annually for up to 20 years. However, MEPA, allegedly due to lack of cooperation from the AG’s Department, has been unable to appoint a panel of experts to calculate the damages for 2023.
"The losses caused by this kind of incident continue for a long time. For instance, the fish harvest may decline for several years, the fishermen will therefore have to face difficulties and the environmental damage may occur. All these losses should be calculated properly. The calculations pertaining to a particular year should be done during that year itself. When that year has passed, there is no possibility to make the calculations," Mannapperuma told The Daily Morning yesterday (14). According to him, since the MEPA has not received instructions from the AG's Department, they (MEPA) have not issued appointment letters to expert committee members. He claims that this is because they (MEPA) are afraid of being blamed during audit proceedings if they appointed experts and pay for their (experts’) service without the AG's Department's instructions. What a pathetic situation. A national crisis, damage to our coastal system and possibly long-term issues related to pollution, and Sri Lanka’s process to seek justice and compensation is being scuttled from within by inter-departmental red tape.
The allegations from Mannapperuma come in the wake of President and Minister of National Policies Ranil Wickremesinghe recently instructed President's Secretary Saman Ekanayake to look into the AG’s Department’s absence at sessions of the said Committee regarding the recovery of compensation for the damage caused by the MV X-Press Pearl maritime disaster.
This lack of synergy and inability to perform one’s mandated duties, also highlight other concerns. Sri Lanka clearly lacks competent subject matter experts to consult and handle such ocean pollution-related matter. Perhaps there is a lacuna in legal specialists who are competent in maritime laws, and of the related international conventions, and on arbitration.
The MV X-Press Pearl, a 185-metre-long Singapore flagged container vessel, was en route from the Hazira Port in India on 15 May 2020 to Colombo with 1,486 containers on board, including 25 tonnes of nitric acid, a large volume of plastic nurdles, and several other chemicals, when it issued a distress call while in anchorage at 9.5 nautical miles Northwest of the Colombo Harbour. The ill-fated vessel sank by the stern in the anchorage following a multinational effort to douse her blaze and get her under control. The full impact from the shipwreck, especially by the millions of small plastic nurdles which have over a period found their way around the coastal belt of Sri Lanka and is suspected to have drifted to the Maldives and other coastal regions of the Indian Ocean, is yet to be fully estimated.
The issue of the handling of the MV X-Press Pearl disaster, ongoing failures in determining the damage it has caused, allegations of misconduct in calculating compensation Sri Lanka is due to receive, have highlighted the glaring shortcomings in Sri Lanka marine, environmental regulatory process and lack of expertise. The Government, which has lofty goals making Sri Lanka a maritime hub, a centre of “blue economy” and is planning to extract natural resources from its territorial sea, should as a matter of priority move swiftly to rectify such glaring shortcomings and lack of expertise, and make it duty bound for state officials not to remain in silos, but cooperate to further national interest.