- No agreement on remainder of $40m initial claim.
- Maritime lawyer warns Government may miss out on full amount.
The Protection and Indemnity Insurance (P&I) club of the MV X-Press Pearl vessel has agreed to pay approximately $3.6 million of the Sri Lankan Government’s initial interim compensation claim of $40 million, reports the Morning.
This compensation will cover the costs incurred in the ten-day period from 23 May to 3 June.
Settlement of first interim claim
In a statement, Minister of Justice M.U.M. Ali Sabry PC said that following negotiations held early last week, the P&I club of the MV X-Press Pearl has agreed to pay approximately Rs. 720 million as a part settlement of the first interim claim.
However, government sources who asked to remain anonymous told The Morning that the insurers have only agreed to pay $3.6 million, which covers direct costs, such as salvage and initial environmental cleanups, and that they are still considering the remainder of the claim sent by Sri Lanka.
Uncertainty over final claim
Speaking to The Morning, maritime lawyer Prof. Dan Malika Gunasekera said that there is doubt as to whether the Government can receive the final legal claim, for which a figure has not yet been finalised.
“When the ship was on fire for 11 days, the arrest of the vessel should have happened. Then a case would have been filed in the High Court and the owner of the vessel would have been required to come to Court. If the Attorney General’s (AG) Department had filed an arrest claim at that point, we would have been able to get a security claim deposited from the owner of about $ 500-800 million,” said Prof. Gunasekara.
He added, “The company can claim that they are bankrupt and cannot pay since they lost their asset – the ship. The interim claim is from the insurance company, not from the owner. The company can very easily evade their responsibility here because as I told you there was no case filed here.”
Damage claims by the fisherfolk
State Minister of Ornamental Fish, Inland Fish and Prawn Farming, Fishery Harbour Development, Multi-day Fishing Activities and Fish Exports Kanchana Wijesekera stated last week that a committee comprising government officials, officials from the AG’s Department, and officials from the Ministry of Fisheries will be appointed to oversee the distribution process of the damage claims to the fisherfolk affected by the disaster.
Meanwhile, Ali Sabry PC said that he held a discussion over the weekend with Republic of Singapore Minister of Law H.E K. Shanmugam about assistance from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.
“Some of the areas we covered were the manner in which Singapore can assist Sri Lanka to take measures to reduce the risk of pollution from the wreck, prepare a Marine Pollution Response Plan, and mobilise appropriate oil spill response equipment to counter any potential bunker oil spill,” said Sabry PC.
He also said, “We also discussed the possibility of initiating a survey of the remaining cargo on board and the location of the derelict containers on the sea bed to prevent any threat of pollution. Shanmugam, on behalf of the Government of Singapore, assured his fullest considerations.”
X-Press Pearl explosion
- 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 country’s marine environment.
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Source: The Morning
