|
The
container ship MV X-Press Peal, which was carrying chemicals,
sank off Colombo in June, 2021 after catching fire. The Supreme
Court said the incident caused “unprecedented devastation to the
marine environment of Sri Lanka” and harmed the country’s
economy, especially the lives of the fishing communities.
Judges said the disaster led to the death of 417 turtles, 48
dolphins, eight whales and a large number of fish species that
washed ashore after the incident. Debris from the ship,
including several tons of plastic pellets used to make plastic
bags, caused severe pollution on beaches.
“This marine environmental disaster constitutes the largest
recorded marine plastic spill in the world,” the judgement said.
“It resulted in the widespread release of toxic and hazardous
substances into the marine environment, poisoning ocean waters,
killing marine species, and destructing phytoplankton."
Due to the severe marine pollution, the government imposed a
fishing ban for well over a year, depriving fishermen of their
income and livelihood.
The incident "continues to cause destruction and harm to Sri
Lanka’s marine environment,” said the judgement, signed by five
supreme court judges.
The judgement was given against the X-Press Pearl group that
included ship's registered owner, EOS Ro Pte. Limited, and other
charterers. All are based in Singapore. An agent in Sri Lanka,
Sea Consortium Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd., was also named.
The court said it has sufficient reasons to hold that X-Press
Pearl group “should be held accountable and liable under the
Polluter Pays Principle for the pollution caused by the MV
X-Press Pearl vessel.”
It said the owner, operators and local agent of the ship were
all liable for the payment of compensation, which should be used
to restore and protect the affected marine and coastal
environment.
There was no immediate comment on the judgement from the owner
or agent of the vessel.
The court ruling came after several parties, including
environment campaigners and fisher rights groups, filed
litigation seeking compensation.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved
|
|
