COLOMBO (NewsRadio); The environmental damage assessment report prepared in order to claim compensation for the damages caused to the environment due to the X-Press Pearl cargo ship disaster in May 2021 is expected to be submitted to the Attorney General by the 15th of January 2023.
The Marine Environmental Protection Authority (MEPA) said the assessment report has not been reported thus owing to a number of reasons.
The MEPA previously informed the Cabinet of Ministers that a case should be file in a Sri Lankan court to secure the compensation payment.
However, due to certain matters including the jurisdiction of the court, President Ranil Wickremesinghe had discussed ways to file the relevant case in Singapore.
Meanwhile, last month, indictments were served on five persons at the Colombo High Court over the X-Press Pearl cargo ship disaster. Indictments were served before Colombo High Court Damith Thotawatte.
They were indicted under eight counts for committing offenses under the Marine Pollution Prevention Act No 59 of 1981.
The five accused were subsequently released on a personal bail of Rs. 1 million each.
The Attorney General filed the case against eight persons, including the five accused in connection with the disaster in Sri Lanka’s western seas in May 2021.
The X-Press Pearl vessel was carrying 1,486 containers when it caught fire off Colombo on the 20th of May 2021, and began sinking.
81 of the containers were labeled hazardous, and the cargo included 25 metric tons of nitric acid — a key ingredient in the production of explosives, and touted as a possible factor for the fire.
There were several explosions, and it took more than a week to bring the fire under control.
Meanwhile, attempts by authorities to tow the ship to deeper waters failed, and the vessel finally sank on the 2nd of June, a few kilometers off the Western coast.
Several persons were arrested over the incident. Meanwhile, indictments were served in court after 18 months since the incident occurred.
Earlier this year, it was reported that Sri Lanka had received Rs.1.3 billion as compensation due to the damages caused to the marine environment of the country following the sinking of the cargo ship X-Press Pearl in 2021.
Chairperson of the Marine Environment Protection Authority Dharshani Lahandapura said the insurance company of the vessel had granted Rs.1.3 billion to compensate the costs incurred to remove the plastic pellets that the vessel was carrying and clean the beaches.
