X-Press Pearl disaster still leaves many unanswered questions

The Government has announced that it will launch a fresh investigation into the handling of the MV X-Press Pearl cargo ship disaster in 2021. This environmental disaster has been further marred in allegations of corruption, delay tactics and mismanagement of the case filed against the owners, demanding compensation.  

A fire erupted in the Singapore-flagged ship and sank off the western coast of Sri Lanka in May 2021. The ship was allowed to enter Sri Lankan territorial waters while the fire had commenced on board and while it was carrying tons of hazardous material. The sinking of the vessels a few days later is now recorded as Sri Lanka’s worst maritime disaster. When disaster struck, the freighter was carrying 1,486 containers with 81 of them labelled as hazardous, transporting 25 metric tons of nitric acid, caustic soda and methanol. In addition, there were 9,700 tons of potentially toxic epoxy resins on board. 

The shipwreck also resulted in the world’s worst ever nurdle spill, as the vessel was carrying 87 containers laden with several types of plastic pellets estimated to weigh around 1,680 metric tons. The toxic leak from the ship killed a large number of fish, turtles and other marine mammals, and devastated the livelihoods of more than 20,000 fishing families.

In 2023 then Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, made a startling accusation that certain officials within the Government had obtained an enormous bribe of $ 250 million to stall the case for compensation from the owners of the vessel. The filing of a claim for compensation for the enormous damage done to the environment and the resulting economic loss was delayed for over two years. There were numerous inter agency tussles in this process with international law requiring that action be filed within two years of such an incident. The Attorney General later filed suit in Singapore against the feeder line in Singapore, and against its London-based insurer in a UK court.

However, many questions remain unanswered including as to why no legal action was initiated within our own country. Further there has hardly been any investigation into why this ill-fated ship, which was engulfed in flames, was allowed to enter Sri Lankan territorial waters in the first place. If the agents of the vessel did not disclose the hazardous material that was on board and the potential risk to the environment at the time of requesting entry, they surely must be held liable for such misinformation. Had the agents disclosed this information and a competent authority had allowed for the vessels to enter Sri Lankan waters then such an official should be investigated for negligence at the very least.

Further exacerbating the matter is the accusation by former Justice Minister, of State officials taking a bribe to delay the proceedings. To date there has not been a public disclosure concerning these accusations and whether there had been a prompt investigation into the matter. 

The X-Press Pearl disaster is an ugly reminder of not only the environmental damage it caused but of the rot that has fermented within the State of Sri Lanka from corrupt officials and politicians who had allowed for this tragedy to happen, covered it up and financially benefited from the disaster with impunity. There are many lessons to be learnt through this tragedy and a comprehensive investigation into the disaster itself and the handling of the matter in the aftermath is imperative, even at this late stage.