By Ifham Nizam

The Sri Lankan government can opt for at least four compensation claims from the fire-stricken, Singapore flagged MV X-Press Pearl’s owners/insurance agents, a senior government official said.

“Though some of the claims could take time due to technical issues, we have a strong case when it comes to damage caused to marine biodiversity, which can be considered the biggest environmental catastrophe”, she said.

Citing the example of a similar disaster, the scientist said a claim for damages filed by the United Kingdom against a US-based ship dragged on for more than two decades.

Moves are underway to incorporate losses to the country’s fish production due to the fire, where chemicals mixing with the biodiversity hotspots within the sea bed have a detrimental impact on the fish harvest, she told The Sunday Island.

She also didn’t rule out the possibility of Sri Lanka being used as a dumping ground for chemical waste. “Some competitors don’t want to see Sri Lanka doing well in the shipping sector”.

She said the damage caused to the fisheries industry will be enormous particularly with small fish species where the adverse impact could be seen within two to three years.

The Wildlife Conservation Department said that apart from fish species, the harm done to sea grasses and nesting habitats, sea mammals and reptiles will also be substantial. “Our initial observations reveal the spill-over effect will last for more than 100 years”.

The operator of Ex-Press Pearl said the ship’s stern was resting on the seabed about 21 meters below the surface and the bow was settling down slowly. Salvage experts are monitoring the vessel’s condition and oil pollution.

The company said its experts were coordinating with the Sri Lanka Navy to deal with an oil spill.

Navy spokesman, Captain Indika de Silva said the navy and coastguard were bracing for an oil spill. India has sent three ships to help, including one specifically equipped to deal with marine pollution.

The Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) is contemplating filing a public interest litigation petition against the company that owns X-Press Pearl, Chairman, Ravindranath Dabare said.

“According to the Marine Pollution Prevention Act No. 35 of 2008, a civil suit can be filed under Section 35 and criminal action could be filed as per Section 26. We had a bitter experience with MT New Diamond as we claimed compensation based on the Polluter Pays Principle, the lawyer said.

The Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) said it is prepared to face a possible oil spill from the stricken container ship off the coast of Sri Lanka.

Oil Containment Booms will be positioned around the vessel with chemical dispersants dropped from the air to prevent an oil leak from spreading, MEPA chief, Darshani Lahandapura, said.

“If the weather is not on our side, we will have to be ready for a beach clean-up and we need to be ready for it”, she said.

General (Retd) R. M. Daya Ratnayake, Chairman, Sri Lanka Ports Authority, told journalists the first point of action is to determine if the fuel in the vessel remains onboard. Thereafter, necessary measures will be taken.

With the immediate focus on minimizing any further damage to the environment, Oil Spill Response Limited has been tasked with tackling any possible spill in liaison with the International Tanker Owners’ Pollution Federation Ltd (ITOPF), which will provide technical expertise.

Both OSRL and ITOPF have people on the ground in Colombo coordinating with the Sri Lankan Navy on an established plan to deal with any possible oil spill and other pollutants.

Renowned Environmentalist, Suranjan Kodituwakku warned that the transfer of ownership of X-Press Pearl after the fire was brought under control could result in Sri Lanka not being able to obtain a proper assessment of the environmental damage or compensation.

“We hope the government will intervene, as required, given its experience, to obtain equitable restitution and compensation for the huge environmental damage,” Kodituwakku, who is also Chairman/CEO of the Green Movement of Sri Lanka Inc., said.

Meanwhile, Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said that even if Sri Lanka receives Rs. 100 billion as compensation for the environmental damage caused, it won’t be sufficient to offset the enormous loss suffered as a result of the disaster,.

The government has focused attention on the extensive environmental destruction caused by the blaze and many decisions on handling the situation taken at a meeting chaired by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, he said.

“An investigation should be launched into the cause of the fire and those responsible for allowing the container-carrier to enter the territorial waters of Sri Lanka dealt with under the law”, he told a news conference at the Environment Ministry.

The damage caused is beyond calculation. Therefore, however much compensation we may receive, it won’t be enough, he noted.

The President emphasized that priority should be given to the opinion of experts in mitigating the situation, the Minister said.

Andrew Leahy, Director for South East Asia of MTI Pte Ltd representing the operators of the vessel, told the media that water was filling inside the hull of the X-PRESS PEARL and salvors from the Netherlands are assessing the situation.

State Minister of Fisheries Kanchana Wijesekera said the Department of Fisheries has suspended vessels entering from the Negombo Lagoon and fishing from Panadura to Negombo with immediate effect as the salvage company involved in the vessel has indicated that the vessel was sinking at the current position.