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S’pore vessel operator’s CEO admits its crew knew of acid leak for 3 weeks

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5 years ago

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The crew of the Singapore-flagged MV X-Press Pearl had been aware of the nitric acid leak at least three weeks before the disaster, but they had been denied permission by authorities in both Qatar and India to unload the leaking container before the fire broke out, Shmuel Yoskovitz CEO of X-Press Feeders’, the vessel operator said on Thursday in an interview with Channel News Asia.  

Providing a timeline of events, Yoskovitz said the container had first been loaded on the ship on May 10 at the Jebel Ali port in Dubai. 

“It was discovered leaking while alongside Hamad, which is a port in Qatar. When it was detected, we asked to discharge it. The port authorities did not allow it since they had no manpower or the equipment readily available to discharge,” he said. 

Yoskovitz said that afterwards the vessel sailed into Hazira, a port in India, where they requested the port to allow them to discharge the container.

“Again, it was rejected, more or less for the same reasons as it was in Hamad,” he said. 

The X-Press Pearl then arrived in Sri Lankan waters on May 19. Smoke was detected the next morning. 

“Until that time, there was only leakage from one container, which was handled and controlled by the crew,” Yoskovitz said. 

When a Channel News Asia anchor asked if the incident could have been avoided if the leaking container was allowed to be discharged at the ports in Qatar and India, Yoskovitz replied that “it is very hard to assess what caused the fire”. 

While the leak from one container was “the most probable cause”, he stressed that the company is “not 100 per cent sure”. 

“There are many incidents like that at sea. Sometimes, terminals and ports are able to help, and sometimes not,” the chief executive added. 

He said that the ship’s crew attended to the leak in accordance with guidelines from the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Convention. 

Yoskovitz was then asked how inadequate packaging of chemical contents could cause such fires, and if this is an urgent problem that needs to be addressed. 

He said that shipping companies have been trying to raise awareness about this issue for the past few years and there have been “countless incidents of fires”. 

“Not to talk about leaks which happened probably on a weekly (basis) which we don’t hear, thank god, because a catastrophe has not happened,” said the chief executive officer. 

“You need to remember that we load containers that are signed and sealed and we don’t open them. We are dependent on the declaration and the professionality of our shippers that they will pack the containers correctly and that they will declare them correctly,” he added.

 

 


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Heat Index at ‘Caution level’ in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in Anuradhapura, Mannar, Vavuniya and Monaragala districts

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4 hours ago

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2026/03/26

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Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of  Meteorology
at 3.30 p.m. on 25 March 2026, valid for 26 March 2026.

The Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in
Anuradhapura, Mannar, Vavuniya and Monaragala districts.

The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.

Effect of the heat index on human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.

ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.

Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry
of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.

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US dodges question on AKD’s claim SL denied permission for military aircraft to land

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4 hours ago

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2026/03/26

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President

By Shamindra Ferdinando

A spokesperson for the US Embassy in Colombo declared that the United States and Sri Lanka maintain a long-standing defence partnership, grounded in transparency, mutual respect, and shared interests.

The official said so in response to The Island query regarding President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s recent bombshell disclosure, in Parliament, that his government declined to allow the US Air Force to use the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, following the eruption of the latest West Asia war.

We sought views of the US on President Dissanayake’s claim against the backdrop of Sri Lanka being a party to the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) since 2007. Sri Lanka extended the ACSA in 2017, for another 10-year period, and its extension comes up next year.

The President revealed that the US had requested permission to use Mattala, between 04 and 08 March.

Claiming that the request had been made on 26 February, two days before the war began, President Dissanayake said that the US had sought to land two aircraft, carrying eight anti-ship missiles, but that the request had been turned down to maintain Sri Lanka’s neutrality. The President revealed that the aircraft were to come from a US base in Djibouti.

The US embassy pokesperson explained that questions related to operational movements, including ‘Operation Epic Fury’, should be directed to the Department of War (DOW) in Washington.

Camp Lemonnier is the primary base of operations for US Africa Command in the Horn of Africa. China, too, has its only overseas military base in Djibouti in the vicinity.

Military sources said whatever various interested parties said about US-Sri Lanka relations, the former provided significant intelligence support during last phase of the conflict that enabled the Navy to hunt down floating LTTE arsenals in international waters. Of the eight LTTE vessels sunk, the US backed four hits with specific intelligence, sources said.

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No decrease in remittances from workers due to Gulf conflict, but significant drop in tourist arrivals – CB Governor

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4 hours ago

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2026/03/26

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CBSL Governor

Sri Lanka’s worker remittances had not seen a decrease despite the ongoing conflict in West Asia, Central Bank (CBSL) Governor, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe said yesterday.

“Based on currently available data, they have not seen a decline in remittances. In fact, according to that we have observed, is a slight increase in remittances in the past few days, ” the Governor said at a media conference held at the Central Bank head office in Colombo.

Governor Weerasinghe also mentioned that he had not seen any reports about Sri Lankans returning to the country from the Middle East due to the ongoing conflict.

The Central Bank Governor, however, acknowledged that there had been a decrease in tourist arrivals. He confirmed that tourist arrivals had decreased by around 17 percent due to the current volatile situation in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has decided to maintain the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at the current level of 7.75%, following its latest Monetary Policy Board meeting.

By Hiran H Senewiratne

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