Vana Arana Foundation files petition over X-Press Pearl

The Vana Arana Foundation filed a petition before the Colombo Commercial High Court yesterday (19) demanding an order be issued to collect more than six billion US dollars in compensation from shipping companies concerned, for the damage caused to the environment and various sectors as a result of the X-Press Pearl disaster.

In the case filed by Ivan de Almeida and four others, the respondents named include Sea Consortium Lanka which is the local representative company of the Express Pearl ship that caught fire, as well as eight companies acting as the owner, insurer and operator of the ship.

The petitioners have stated in their complaint that due to the mixing of fuel, chemicals and plastic pieces of the ship that caught fire on the coast near Colombo, severe environmental and economic damage has been caused to the country.

The petition pointed out that there was massive pollution of the ocean due to the leakage of chemicals from the ship and air pollution through the mixing of those chemicals with the air. The petition states further that as a result of this, a large number of sea creatures including turtles died and many fishermen lost their livelihood.