Environmentalists gear up for action to obtain actual compensation

Ex-Pearl disaster:

By Ifham Nizam

Environmentalists and civic-minded organisations are teaming up to take up the delay on the part of the owners and insurance agents of the Singapore flagged X-Press Pearl vessel to pay compensation for the severe damage to the marine environment here.

Environmental Scientist Hemantha Withanage told The Island that President Ranil Wickremesinghe should immediately appoint a committee to look into the matter without further delay. He asserted that Sri Lanka could collect more than USD 10 billion in compensation for the harm caused.

The Fisheries Ministry received nearly Rs. 1,500 million as compensation to be awarded to the Sri Lankan fishermen who were affected by the fire that broke out on board the X-Press Pearl Cargo Vessel in the seas off Colombo.This money was distributed among 15,032 fishermen identified in the Gampaha, Colombo, and Kalutara districts.

Last month, Auditor General Chulantha Wickramaratne called for a full investigation into the process of obtaining compensation for environmental damage caused by the sinking of the X-Press Pearl ship last year.

Laboratory tests conducted on samples of plastic pellets collected from the beaches had revealed a high concentration of harmful chemical compounds, such as Bisphenol and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Withanage said.

“The MEPA and the AG’s Department have not taken any legal action and we may ultimately lose the opportunity to do so,” he alleged, calling for a Presidential Commission of Inquiry to investigate the matter. He said two petitions had been filed in the Appeal Court and another petition in the Supreme Court over the X-Press Pearl disaster.The ill-fated ship was carrying 81 containers of dangerous cargo that contained 25 tons of nitric acid among other chemicals. The affected area encompasses 746 km from Mannar to Kirinda in Hambantota.