X-Press Feeders Appeals for Rational Decision on 2021 Casualty Compensation
X-Press Feeders, the operator of the containership X-Press Pearl, lost off Sri Lanka after a container fire in 2021, has issued a statement critical of the Sri Lanka Supreme Court while appealing for “rational decision-making and judgments regarding liability and compensation.” The company says it is “deeply” concerned by the recent court decision ordering an initial payment of $1 billion within the year.
While saying it recognizes the need for compensation for any environmental damage, X-Press Feeder writes, “we believe that it must be done in an equitable and fair manner.” They point to the poor decisions by Sri Lanka’s Harbor Master, Director General of Merchant Shipping, the environmental authorities, and the ignored pleas for help from the ship. They highlight that Qatar, India, and Sri Lanka all refused requests to offload the container before the fire started.
“The court’s intent to lay all blame and liability on the vessel’s owners and operators is blatantly apparent in their judgment,” asserts X-Press Feeders. It points out that Sri Lanka’s experts visited the ship more than a week before it sank, and no alarm was raised or an immediate reason for concern. They also point out that the environmental authority did not issue decisive and clear orders to take the vessel further offshore.
Instead, they assert the court has “effectively pronounced the vessel’s master and local agents guilty of criminal charges before their trials have concluded.” They highlight that the master has been detained in Sri Lanka for four and a half years and was not present or represented when the Supreme Court was conducting its case. They say he master was not given the chance to respond during the hearing. The master also faces a separate criminal trial.
The agents, X-Press Feeders, point out had no decision-making role in the vessel’s operation. Sri Lanka, however, has contended that the agents supplied incomplete and incorrect information as the casualty was unfolding. The agent has not yet been charged on some of the allegations, says X-Press Feeders, yet the Supreme Court mandates the police to investigate the agents further and prosecute them.
“The judgment effectively holds him (the master) and the agents as human collateral to ensure compliance of the owners and operators,” asserts X-Press Feeder. It responds to the judgment saying it ignores accepted international maritime law and establishes an unprecedented level of risk, which it believes most shipping companies will struggle to meet.
The company asserts that it has already paid over $150 million to date for the removal of the wreck, removal of the nurdles from the beaches, and compensation for the affected fishermen.
The Supreme Court in July gave the companies six months to make an initial payment against the total judgment of $1 billion. They have to make two additional payments before the end of one year.