COLOMBO, Sept 23 – The Sri Lankan government will consult the Attorney General after the owning company of the MV X-Press Pearl vessel failed to pay USD 1 billion in compensation for what has been described as the worst marine disaster in the Indian Ocean, officials said on Tuesday.
The Singapore-flagged MV X-Press Pearl caught fire off Colombo Port in May 2021 and burned for nearly two weeks while carrying 81 containers of hazardous chemicals, including 25 tonnes of nitric acid.
The incident triggered massive marine pollution, spilling billions of plastic nurdles and toxic chemicals into Sri Lankan waters. The disaster killed marine life, destroyed fishing livelihoods, and devastated coastal ecosystems, prompting a court to order USD 1 billion in damages from the vessel’s owners.
“The company has not complied with the court order. The government will seek legal advice from the Attorney General on the next course of action,” a senior official told local media.
Environmental experts have called the disaster an unprecedented ecological crisis, warning of long-term damage to Sri Lanka’s marine biodiversity and coastal economy.