News / X-Press Feeders defies court order to pay out for X-Press Pearl disaster

Photo: Sri Lankan Navy

Singapore-based container carrier X-Press Feeders has publicly declined to pay a $250m down payment on the $1bn bill issued by Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court as compensation for the environmental disaster that followed the sinking of the X-Press Pearl in 2021.

Widely though to be the worst maritime casualty in the Indian Ocean, the fire on the vessel, and its subsequent sinking, resulted in the release of some 70 billion plastic nurdles and tonnes of toxic chemicals into the water around the Sri Lankan coast.

“While we respect the judicial process, the ruling leaves open the possibility of additional and potentially unlimited compensation,” said X-Press Feeders CEO Shmuel Yoskovitz today.

Any payment towards the judgement could set a dangerous precedent for how maritime incidents will be resolved in the future.

“It is vital that any compensation is substantiated, proportionate, and consistent with international conventions,” he added.

In a ruling in July, Sri Lanka’s supreme court found the carrier liable for $1bn to paid within a year, the first tranche of $250m due today.

However, the judgment also left the way open for more compensation claims against the carrier in the future.

X-Press Feeders claimed it had already paid some $170m towards “wreck removal, environmental remediation, and compensation claims”, which it said was in cooperation with Sri Lanka’s government, and added that “claims lodged by the Sri Lankan government that have been processed and approved by the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF) have been settled”.

However, it also claimed that the much of those funds it had already delivered “had not reached those most directly affected by the disaster”.

The company said: “We are deeply disappointed to learn from local reports of Sri Lankan parliament proceedings that compensation payments have not yet reached many affected communities due to delays within Sri Lanka.

“We share the frustrations of those impacted and remain open to providing additional direct support to community-based projects in Sri Lanka, for the benefit of the fishermen and marine environment.”

Following a change of Sri Lanka’s government in September 2024, the new administration reopened the case following allegations that a $6.4bn insurance claim in Singapore had been mishandled.

It also drew attention to the ongoing detention of X-Press Pearl master Vitaly Tyutkalo, who has “been prevented from returning home for more than four years, due to a court-ordered travel ban, causing significant and prolonged distress to him and his family”, and whose direct appeals to Sri Lanka’s previous prime minster to allow his release had fallen on deaf ears.

X-Press Feeders also called on the authorities to end a campaign of harassment against its agents in the country.

“Over the past four years, our local agents have continued to face repeated investigations, arrests and court proceedings for an incident which they had no decision-making role in.

“We seek fair treatment of the vessel’s master and local agents. We are open to direct dialogue with the relevant Sri Lankan authorities and have been actively seeking to engage with their representatives.

“We hope to achieve an outcome that is evidence-based, fair, proportionate, and consistent with international practice,” the company said.