Recently, Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court ordered the owners and related parties of the “X-Press Pearl” to pay compensation amounting to 1 billion US dollars. The ruling stated that the sinking of the X-Press Pearl in 2021 caused unprecedented damage to Sri Lanka’s marine environment.

The X-Press Pearl departed from Jebel Ali carrying approximately 1,500 containers, including containers loaded with nitric acid, other chemicals, and cosmetics. During the voyage, a container on the deck leaked nitric acid. The vessel was denied berthing at the Hamad and Hazira ports. When it arrived in Colombo on May 19, 2021, the leaking container was still on board. On May 20, 2021, the X-Press Pearl reported a fire onboard, which ultimately destroyed the ship. It sank off the coast of Sri Lanka on June 2, 2021.

According to court documents, the marine pollution caused by the accident included 46,960 bags of low-density and high-density polyethylene from 20 containers, which released an estimated 7 to 7.5 billion plastic microbeads along Sri Lanka’s western coast.

The court found that, in an attempt to enter Colombo Port, the captain, operators, and local agents of the X-Press Pearl “deliberately concealed from Colombo Port the true, timely, comprehensive, and accurate circumstances of the vessel for a period while it was entering Sri Lankan territorial waters.”

The court ruled that the compensation payments are limited to the “non-state parties” referred to as the “X-Press Pearl Group,” essentially the ship’s owners, charterers, and agents.

The court held the “X-Press Pearl Group” solely responsible for the pollution in this case and ordered them to pay 1 billion US dollars in compensation. The payment schedule requires an initial amount of 250 million USD by September 23, 2025, another 500 million USD within six months after the judgment, and the final 250 million USD within one year.

In response to the ruling, the involved party X-Press Feeders stated: “We are very disappointed with the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka’s judgment related to the X-Press Pearl incident, which requires the non-state parties involved to pay an initial amount of 1 billion USD within one year. We are reviewing the detailed 361-page judgment with our legal advisors, insurers, and other stakeholders, including the International Group of P&I Clubs, to best assess our next steps.”