The Express Pearl, a Super Eco 2700-class container ship registered in Singapore, sank on April 23, and the Attorney General’s (AG) Department of Sri Lanka has announced the filing of a lawsuit in a Singaporean court on April 24 seeking compensation for the environmental harm caused to SriLanka’s coastline and marine environment.
On May 20, 2021, the ship, which had left India’s Hazira Port, caught fire close to the Port of Colombo.
The 1,486 containers on the ship carrying nitric acid and other chemicals drowned as a result of the fire.
For almost two weeks, the fire on board the ship burned, wreaking havoc on Sri Lanka’s maritime ecosystem, including massive oil leaks and the extinction of numerous marine species.
Ajith Mannapperuma, the sectoral monitoring committee’s chairman, has directed the Marine Environmental Protection Authority (MEPA) and the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) to give the expert committee in charge of calculating the total amount of damages the facilities it requires. According to reports, MEPA was informed of this last week.
According to the AG Department, they will pursue full compensation for the substantial environmental harm brought on by the accident.
