Singapore ship pays only US$1 million in US$1 billion Sri Lanka pollution case
The owners of the MV X-Press Pearl, which caused a major disaster, argued paying the fine would ‘set a dangerous precedent’ for global shipping
A Singapore-registered ship’s Sri Lanka agent paid US$1 million out of US$1 billion damages awarded for causing the island’s worst pollution, a litigant said on Wednesday.
The Sea Consortium (Private) Limited made the token payment in “good faith” as it did not have the financial capacity to fully cover the damages.
A petitioner who brought action against the MV X-Press Pearl, which sank off Colombo Port in June 2021, said he had been officially informed of the payment.
“I was given a copy of the affidavit of Sea Consortium [to the court] after it paid 300 million rupees (US$1 million) to the Treasury,” environmental activist Hemantha Withanage said.
“They have done this because the court held them responsible for any non-compliance by the Singapore owners.”
The move came as the owners of the X-Press Pearl said that they would refuse to pay the massive damages.