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Chinese fertiliser vessel entering SL waters not illegal: Sri Lanka Ports Authority

01 Nov 2021

  • SLPA Harbour Master says no information received about whether ship entered
  • Says innocent passage of ships not monitored by Navy
By Aazam Ameen The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) has said that even if the Seiyo Explorer vessel, formerly known as Hippo Spirit, which is carrying tonnes of Chinese fertiliser that have failed quality tests, has entered Sri Lanka’s territorial waters, it is not illegal. “Several vessels pass through our waters for the purpose of innocent passage, this is not illegal,” Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SPLA) Harbour Master Capt. K.M. Nirmal P. Silva told The Morning last (31 October) night. He also stated that the Sri Lanka Navy does monitor Sri Lankan waters, but only for illegal activities, and not for the purpose of innocent passage. Despite media reports which claimed that the ship had entered Sri Lanka’s sea and was situated near the Hambantota Port, he stated that as of yesterday, no information about the vessel’s position or whether it has entered Sri Lankan waters or ports has been communicated to Sri Lankan authorities. When asked if the SLPA was aware of the vessels which are currently in Sri Lankan waters, Capt. Silva stated that it is “nobody’s responsibility” to know such details, and that the SLPA’s jurisdiction is only limited to vessels that enter any port in the country. Indian media outlet WION (World Is One News) reported that the ship changed its name from “Hippo Spirit” to “Seiyo Explorer” last week, adding that the “Hippo Spirit” and the “Seiyo Explorer” appear to have the same IMO number, 9135523, according to a ship-tracking website. Despite several attempts to Contact Sri Lanka Navy Media Spokesperson Capt. Indika De Silva for comments on the same, our efforts proved to be futile. Last week, when contacted by The Morning, the Agriculture Ministry Secretary Prof. Udith K. Jayasinghe said that he is not aware as to whether the ship has arrived in the close seas of Sri Lanka. However, he said that the fertiliser stock will not be allowed to be unloaded in the country. “Whether it has arrived or not, we have clearly asked not to unload it. The arrival of a ship does not come under me or the Director General (DG) of the Department of Agriculture, but if any ship brings unwanted things for agriculture purposes which were not permitted by the relevant authorities or for which the necessary licences have not been issued, we have asked very clearly not to unload them,” he said. Prof. Jayasinghe further said that the Department of Agriculture DG Dr. Ajantha de Silva has sent a letter to the SLPA through which the SLPA was informed not to allow the said consignment of fertiliser to be unloaded. “Dr. de Silva has issued a very clear letter and it was accepted by the SLPA.” Speaking further, he went on to say: “This has been dealt with by the NPQS, the Agriculture DG, Promoting the Production and Regulating the Supply of Organic Fertiliser, and Paddy and Grains, Organic Foods, Vegetables, Fruits, Chilies, Onion, and Potato Cultivation Promoting, Seed Production, and Advanced Technology Agriculture State Ministry Secretary Nihal Ranasinghe, and myself. If any fertiliser meets the prescribed standards set out by the relevant authorities, then we have no issue, but these fertilisers were not in accordance with such standards, due to which we have made it clear that they should not be brought into the country.” In response to a question as to whether Sri Lanka would have to pay any compensation to said Chinese company in the event of this ship having to be sent back, he said: “No. Why should we pay? If somebody drops something at your home without asking and if you do not need it, are you going to pay for it? When the relevant standards are not met, this cannot be considered a fertiliser.” The Colombo Port Harbour Master has, on 23 October, told the media that he was unaware of the said ship’s whereabouts, but had issued instructions to prevent it from entering the harbour. Furthermore, when contacted last evening, the Ports and Shipping Ministry Secretary U.D.C. Jayalal confirmed to The Morning that the ship had not entered the port and that the Port Master had instructed the relevant parties to prevent it from entering. Following tests carried out by local testing agencies, including the National Plant Quarantine Service (NPQS), on the second set of samples of organic fertiliser made in China that have confirmed the presence of harmful bacteria in said samples, the Agriculture Ministry recently decided not to import organic fertiliser from the said company. However, following requests from China, the Government has agreed to send the organic fertiliser samples from the China-based Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co. Ltd., which have been found to contain harmful bacteria on two previous occasions, to a third party and to retest their quality. Promoting the Production and Regulating the Supply of Organic Fertiliser, and Paddy and Grains, Organic Foods, Vegetables, Fruits, Chillies, Onion, and Potato Cultivation Promoting, Seed Production, and Advanced Technology Agriculture State Minister Shasheendra Rajapaksa told the media last Tuesday (26 October) that China had refused to accept the results of the tests conducted so far. “They (China) said that the tests carried out on these fertiliser samples by the local agencies could not be accepted as they were not accredited laboratories. They said that this company in question manufactures fertilisers for about 16 countries, including Australia, Canada, and the US, and therefore asked us to understand the quality of these fertilisers.” Accordingly, Rajapaksa said that the Government had agreed to refer these fertiliser samples to a third party laboratory in order to ascertain their quality. However, the National Plant Quarantine Service (NPQS) told The Morning last week that it has sole authority to carry out testing on fertilisers that may contain live organisms to be imported into Sri Lanka, and that no such fertiliser can be imported based on the tests carried out by any other institution.


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