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X-Press Pearl disaster: Owners refuse to abide by SC order
Singapore headquartered X-Press Feeders has refused to abide by Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court order made in July that the company pay an ‘initial’ US$1 billion in damages within a year to Sri Lankan authorities, with the first tranche of US$250 million to be paid by 23 September.
The SC also ordered the company “to make such other and further payments” in the future as the court may direct for causing the country’s worst environmental disaster.
The AFP quoted Chief Executive Shmuel Yoskovitz as having said that the damages wouldn’t be paid for causing Sri Lanka’s worst case of environmental pollution. The AFP, in an exclusive interview, further quoted him as having asserted that paying would have wide-ranging implications on global shipping and set a dangerous precedent.
The company operated the Singapore-registered container ship MV X-Press Pearl that sank off the Colombo Port, in June 2021, following a fire – believed to be caused by a nitric acid leak – that raged for nearly two weeks.
Its cargo included 81 containers of hazardous goods, including acids and lead ingots, and hundreds of tonnes of plastic pellets.
The ship was refused permission by ports in Qatar and India to offload the leaking nitric acid before it arrived in Sri Lankan waters without informing authorities here of the grave hazard it was carrying.
Tonnes of microplastic granules from the ship inundated an 80km stretch of beach along Sri Lanka’s western coast. Fishing was prohibited for months.
Despite its willful negligence in bringing in a dangerous vessel to our waters without any warning, X-Press Feeders Chief Executive Shmuel Yoskovitz has rejected the open-ended nature of the penalty.
“We are not paying because the whole base of maritime trade is based on the limitation of liability. This judgment undermines this limitation of liability.”
“Any payment towards the judgment could set a dangerous precedent for how maritime incidents will be resolved in the future,” he said.
Yoskovitz said the absence of limitations could lead to higher insurance premiums, which would be ultimately passed on to consumers.
The CEO again apologised for the incident, saying the company recognised the disaster and was trying to make amends.
He said X-Press Feeders had already spent US$170 million to remove the wreck, clean up the seabed and beaches, and compensate affected fishermen.
“We are not trying to hide… We are willing to pay more, but it has to be under certain marine conventions and an amount that is full and final, and then it can be settled, and we can move on,” he said.
“But to live under this hanging guillotine – it is simply impossible to operate like this.”
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing on 25 September about the implementation of its decision.
One of the petitioners who sought compensation for the pollution has called for further research to determine the full extent of the damage to the island’s marine ecosystems.
It remains unclear how Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court could enforce its decision.
However, in its 361-page decision, in July, the court ordered police and the state prosecutor to initiate criminal proceedings for non-compliance if the parties were present in Sri Lanka.
Yoskovitz expressed concern over the ship’s Russian captain Vitaly Tyutkalo, who has been banned from leaving Sri Lanka for more than four years, as well as the company’s third-party agents there.
The firm had offered to pay a fine for the skipper’s release, but this was refused, according to Yoskovitz.
X-Press Feeders obtained an order from London’s Admiralty Court in July 2023, limiting its liability to a maximum of £19 million (S$32.9 million), but Sri Lanka has challenged that.
The Sri Lankan government also filed a lawsuit against the ship’s owners in the Singapore International Commercial Court. But that has been stayed pending the result of the case in London, with a pre-trial hearing expected in May 2026.
The Ambassador of Switzerland to Sri Lanka Dr. Siri Walt paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya on the 17th of February at the Temple Trees.
Welcoming the Ambassador of Switzerland to Sri Lanka the Prime Minister briefed the Ambassador on her recent visit to Davos to participate in the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting noting that the series of high-level bilateral meetings held on the sidelines of the Forum, along with two important industry visits provided valuable insights for Sri Lanka’s economic engagement.
The discussion focused on Switzerland’s vocational education and training (VET) system, with particular interest in exploring possible cooperation and knowledge-sharing opportunities.
The Prime Minister also conveyed her appreciation for the assistance extended by the Government of Switzerland following Cyclone Ditwah. She emphasized Sri Lanka’s need for enhanced technical assistance during the ongoing rebuilding phase, especially in relation to the reconstruction of bridges and railway infrastructure.
Both sides reaffirmed their shared commitment to further strengthening bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and Switzerland, and to expanding cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
First Secretary (Political) of the Embassy of Switzerland in Colombo Ms. Justine Boillat, First Secretary (Migration) of the Embassy of Switzerland in Colombo Ms. Andrea Kienast and the Secretary to the Prime Minister, Pradeep Saputhanthri, Additional Secretary to the Prime Minister, Ms. Sagarika Bogahawatt and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs , Foreign Employment, Tourism.attended the meeting.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
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Advisory for low pressure area in the Southwest Bay of Bengal to the south-east of Sri Lanka
Advisory for low pressure area in the Southwest Bay of Bengal to the south-east of Sri Lanka.
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of Meteorology at 03.00 pm on 18 February 2026
Multiday boats fishermen and naval community are warned that the low-pressure area still persists over the Southwest Bay of Bengal to the south-east of Sri Lanka. Under the influence of this system, heavy showers or thundershowers, Strong winds about (50-60) kmph, and rough or very rough seas can be expected in these sea areas.
The Meteorological Department is constantly monitoring the behavior of the system.
The naval and fishing communities are requested to be attentive to the future forecasts and bulletins issued by the Department of Meteorology in this regard.
Canada, said to be the home to the largest Tamil Diaspora community, has expressed concern over the delay in holding Provincial Council (PC) elections. Canadian High Commissioner Isabelle Martin, on Monday (16), took up the issue with Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government Minister Professor Chandana Abayaratne.
Sources quoted Prof. Abayaratne as having told the Canadian HC that the delay was not deliberate on the part of the government. The Minister blamed, what the sources called, certain legal, technical and delimitation issues for the delay.
India compelled Sri Lanka to enact the 13th Amendment to the country’s Constitution to enable the setting up of the Provincial Council system, in line with the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord, which Sri Lanka signed under duress in July 1987.
Prof. Abayaratne has assured the Canadian HC that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, too, recognised the importance of strengthening the Provincial Council system as a solution to ethnic issues and that urgent steps would be taken in that regard.
During the discussion, matters relating to strengthening political, economic and social relations between the two countries were discussed.
In May 2020, Canada declared that Sri Lanka had perpetrated genocide during the war against the LTTE. Canada also sanctioned former Presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Gotabaya Rajapaksa in January 2023 over alleged war crimes.
The Canadian HC also explained her country’s ‘Indo-Pacific’ strategy and how Sri Lanka could benefit from it.
In particular, Canada’s “Pathways to Peace” project will support reconciliation between nations, and to improve communication by encouraging the learning of mutual languages as a second language, and it was also agreed to provide more opportunities for Sri Lankan students to pursue higher studies in Canada.
The Canadian delegation also expressed its willingness to provide the necessary technical assistance to solve the drinking water problems in Puttalam, Mannar and the North-Eastern provinces under technical cooperation, and to implement the relevant projects after a preliminary study.
by Shamindra Ferdinando
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