X-Press Pearl disaster: AG team leaves to Singapore today

Anine-member Sri Lankan delegation led by Attorney General Sanjaya Rajaratnam is scheduled to leave for Singapore today for a meeting with the insurance company of the X-Press Pearl vessel which sank off the Colombo Port in 2021.

The delegation will be meeting company representatives tomorrow and the day after tomorrow in a bid to gain maximum compensation for the disaster, according to senior officials from the AG department.

Earlier Sunday Times reported that representatives of the company owning the ship will also be present at the discussions.

The Cabinet has granted approval for the trip after the insurance company refused to visit Sri Lanka for discussions. The Sri Lankan delegation will consist of representatives from the AG’s Department, the Marine Environment Pollution Authority (MEPA), the Commercial Shipping, Fisheries Ministry and an Additional Secretary from the Presidential Secretariat.

The visit comes amidst the possibility of a delay in the ongoing compensation claim filed by Sri Lanka in Singapore in view of the limitation on damages action filed in the UK by insurers of the X-Press Pearl container vessel.

Legal experts have informed the Government that it would be opportune to either lay by the claims action in Singapore or ask the court for a lengthy delay until the UK case is concluded.

The insurers have filed the case in the Commercial High Court in London under the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims.