Our Efforts
Contribution
To date, over USD 170 million has been paid towards wreck removal, environmental remediation and compensation claims. These efforts were carried out in cooperation with the Sri Lankan Government, including sourcing international expertise for clean-up operations. The majority of the claims lodged by the Sri Lankan government that have been processed and deemed reasonable by the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF) have been settled.​
Clean up
X-Press Feeders and London P&I Club financed the cleanup efforts, which were led by the Marine Environment Protection Authority, despite offers by the owners and insurers to engage international contractors to conduct the clean-up operations.
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To date, over USD$7,756,000 has been paid to the Sri Lankan Government for beach clean-up efforts.
Salvage
Smit Salvage was contracted to provide immediate assistance and firefighting for the X-Press Pearl following reports of a nitric acid leak and smoke from the vessel on 21 May, 2021.
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When the vessel sank, Resolve Marine was engaged as the wreck caretakers to monitor pollution and ensure the wreck was sufficiently marked to prevent navigation hazards. They were further contracted to commence recovery of containers and debris lost overboard during the vessel fire and subsequent sinking.
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Shanghai Salvage Company was then contracted to remove the ship wreckage by first cutting it into two parts, lifting it from the seabed, and then transporting it to a certified decommissioning facility for dismantling, recycling, and disposal.
Community
X-Press Feeders and our insurers recognise the impact the vessel casualty has had on the people of Sri Lanka and its environment. To alleviate the situation, initial payments of close to USD$10 million were made to the Sri Lankan Government, based on claims submitted by the fishing community through MEPA.
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Further payments were suspended when parties representing sections of the fishing community launched legal action against the government and other stakeholders, with submissions indicating a disparity between what Owners had paid the Government of Sri Lanka and what had been released as payments to the fishing community.
