X-Press Feeders CEO rejects $ 1 b pollution damages to Sri Lanka

SINGAPORE-BASED X-Press Feeders CEO Shmuel Yoskovitz yesterday said that the company will not pay the $ 1 billion in damages ordered by Sri Lanka's Supreme Court for what has been described as the country's worst environmental disaster.

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In an interview with AFP published yesterday, Yoskovitz warned that complying with the ruling would “set a dangerous precedent” for global shipping.

"We are not paying because the whole base of maritime trade is based on the limitation of liability. This judgment undermines this limitation of liability," he told AFP. He added: "Any payment towards the judgment could set a dangerous precedent for how maritime incidents will be resolved in the future." The case stems from the 2021 sinking of the MV X-Press Pearl, which caught fire off Colombo Port after a nitric acid leak. The vessel was carrying hazardous cargo, including acids, lead ingots and tonnes of plastic pellets, which washed up along 80 kilometres of Sri Lanka's western coastline. Fishing was banned for months as a result.