Respondents ordered to pay $1b in damages following X-Press Pearl disaster in Sri Lanka

The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has ordered the respondents in the case involving the ill-fated container vessel X-Press Pearl to pay the equivalent of US$1 billion as compensation for the environmental damage caused when the ship exploded and later sank off the country's capital of Colombo.

The court has directed X-Press Feeders, the ship's Singapore-based operating company, to pay the stipulated amount within a year from the announcement of the verdict on Thursday, July 24.

A significant portion of the compensation would be used to cover activities associated with the pollution response effort following the disaster, which occurred over a span of two weeks from late May to early June of 2021.

The respondents in the case may also be required to make "further compensation payments," the committee of five judges said in a 361-page decision.

X-Press Feeders has not yet commented on the decision.

The recently concluded legal proceedings began after the Sri Lankan Government decided to reopen the investigation into the incident with the aim of seeking insurance payouts totalling at least US$6.4 billion.