Decision to file case in Singapore against X-Press Pearl owners raises eyebrows

By Ifham Nizam

The Attorney General’s Department yesterday said action would be filed in Singapore seeking compensation for environmental damages caused by the X-Press Pearl Disaster.

Centre for Environmental Justice Chairman, Attorney-at-Law, Dr. Ravindranath Dabare yesterday said the government authorities had not previously stated that legal action would be filed in Singapore and it was a recent development.

Dabare expressed concern over the AG’s decision and asked why it had been reached in haste and who would provide funds for legal action.

A research conducted by the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) with the help of Professor Padmalal Manage of the Zoology Department of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and the research team from October to December 2021, in 11 locations from the mouth of the Maha Oya estuary to Bentota, and around the X-Press Pearl ship sank, has revealed that there is a very high amount of nitrate in the sea. The amount of chlorophyll A near the shipwreck is very high compared to it in Bentota. The algal growth has increased due to the high levels of nitrate and phosphate released from the ship. There is a high growth of phytoplankton around the ship.

Environmental Scientist Hemantha Withanage said harmful biotoxins had also been found in areas such as Dikowita and Sarakkuwa. Oil and grease were also found around the ship, along with heavy metals such as lead, zinc, copper, and nickel in these samples. Those heavy metals were found in sea snails, shrimps, sardines, and herrings exceeding the level approved for human consumption and the amount of lead found in shrimp was 4.23 µg g-1.

“The CEJ believes that under Sri Lanka law the case to claim compensation has to be filed within two years of the incident, that is before 19 May 2023. We have only 44 days remaining.

If immediate action is not taken within the relevant time frame, Sri Lanka might lose their claim for the estimated 10 billion USD compensation for this incident. That would be a catastrophic failure on the part of the Attorney General’s Department and the Cabinet,” Withanage stressed.