• Harbour Master-Ship Captain’s communications deleted
• Statements recorded from Harbour Master, SLPA officials
• Authorities assure independent probe despite defence’s doubts

By Pamodi Waravita

The Attorney General’s (AG) Department has on Tuesday (13) informed the Colombo Magistrate’s Court that an extensive investigation is being conducted into the allegedly erased communications between the Captain of the MV X-Press Pearl ship and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Harbour Master.

Appearing on behalf of the AG, Deputy Solicitor General (DSG) Madhawa Tennakoon has stated that investigations into the lost data, which have been conducted by questioning the local company that manufactured the radio transmitter of the Harbour Master, have revealed that the data between 1 May and 10 June has been erased.

Accordingly, DSG Tennakoon has informed the Court that statements have been recorded from the Harbour Master and other relevant officials of the SLPA. DSG Tennakoon further assured the Court that justice will be served to those responsible for the erasure of this data.

Representing the Captain of the vessel, President’s Counsel (PC) Sarath Jayamanne accused the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of intentionally neglecting its duty to investigate the communications that had taken place between the Harbour Master and the Captain, despite his continued requests to do so.

Therefore, Jayamanne PC stated, suspicions about the independence of the investigation have now arisen. However, DSG Tennakoon rejected these accusations, adding that a fully independent investigation is currently being carried out into the matter.

Furthermore, the Court has lifted the travel bans that were imposed on 14 of the total of 24 crew members of the MV X-Press Pearl.

DSG Tennakoon has also requested the Court to order the CID to submit soil and water samples collected from various areas that were affected by the disaster to the Government Analyst’s Department, and to obtain a report on the matter. The Court granted the request, and the matter will be called up again on 30 July.

 

The MV X-Press Pearl ship caught fire on 20 May, approximately nine nautical miles away from the Colombo Harbour, after having anchored there a few hours prior to the fire. A subsequent explosion on 24 May led to the fire spreading and a number of containers aboard it falling into the sea, thus releasing pollutants including plastic pellets into the water. Since then, debris and deceased marine life have washed up on the country’s Western coastline, heavily affecting both the fisheries industry and the marine environment.