• Damages case filed in Singapore to ensure enforceable compensation: AG

The new Government’s decision to revisit the X-Press Pearl disaster and initiate an investigation has raised concerns among legal experts handling the existing lawsuits in Singapore and the UK.

They warn that any findings implicating Sri Lankan authorities could jeopardise the country’s potential compensation claims, estimated in millions of dollars, for the 2021 shipwreck.

The Sunday Morning reliably learns that a prior investigation had absolved Sri Lanka of responsibility in the disaster. 

However, if the new inquiry uncovers any lapses on Sri Lanka’s part, the nation’s standing in its ongoing compensation claims may be compromised.

In 2023, Sri Lanka filed a lawsuit in Singapore against the insurer of the MV X-Press Pearl, the P&I Club, demanding approximately $ 6.4 billion for environmental damage after the vessel caught fire and sank off Colombo’s coast on 20 May 2021.

Last week, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath stated that while the Government intended to proceed with the investigation, previous authorities had not submitted claims related to the disaster’s civil liabilities yet.

Attorney General Parinda Ranasinghe, PC stressed that the Government’s fresh probe would not interfere with the ongoing cases.

“The case will be continued. There won’t be an impact on the existing case,” he asserted.

Ranasinghe elaborated that the cases had been filed in Singapore and the UK because the shipping company was registered in Singapore and the insurer was based in the UK. 

When asked about the possibility of moving the case to Sri Lankan courts, he explained the limitations as follows: “It is always possible to withdraw a case, but even if it’s filed in Sri Lanka and the country wins, the challenge lies in enforcing payment.”

“We can ask the shipping company and the insurer to pay the damages, but none of them have assets in Sri Lanka. If they fail to pay, there’s no way for the court to confiscate their properties and settle the damages. As far as we know, the shipping company has only this ship, which is registered under a separate company,” he added.

Ranasinghe also said that there were no outstanding documents required from the Attorney General’s side, noting that all relevant paperwork had already been submitted to the courts.

Sri Lanka’s estimated environmental damage claim for the 2021 MV X-Press Pearl disaster stands at $ 6.4 billion. Thus far, the country has received only $ 7.85 million from the ship’s insurer, P&I Club, in three instalments. 

The payments – $ 3.6 million in July 2021, $ 1.75 million in January this year, and $ 2.5 million this month – fall significantly short of the interim claim of $ 40 million initially sought in June 2021.

The X-Press Pearl was transporting 1,486 containers, carrying hazardous materials like nitric acid and plastic nurdles, when it caught fire off Colombo’s coast. 

Following the disaster, a panel of experts from various Sri Lankan institutions – including the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA), National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA), and multiple universities – was assembled to assess the environmental impact.