Tuesday Sep 30, 2025
Tuesday Sep 30, 2025
Wednesday, 24 September 2025 00:30 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
X-Press Feeders CEO Shmuel Yoskovitz (AFP)
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.
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.
In July, the Supreme Court ordered X-Press Feeders to pay $ 1 billion in compensation within a year, starting with a $ 250 million instalment by this week. The court also directed the company “to make such other and further payments” in the future as required.
Yoskovitz told AFP the open-ended nature of the penalty made it unacceptable. He apologised for the disaster, saying the company recognised the damage caused and had already spent $ 170 million on wreck removal, seabed and beach clean-up, and compensation for fishermen.
“We are not trying to hide. We are willing to pay more, but it has to be under certain marine conventions and an amount that is full and final and then it can be settled, and we can move on. But to live under this hanging guillotine, it is simply impossible to operate like this,” he said.
Meanwhile, United Nations in Sri Lanka yesterday posted on X that “the X-Press Pearl disaster caused catastrophic harm to Sri Lanka’s marine ecosystems, livelihoods, and coastal communities. The Supreme Court’s ruling is a vital step toward justice and accountability.”
It added: “The X-Press Pearl ruling by Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court, ordering $ 1 billion in compensation, is a landmark for environmental justice. It affirms that polluters must be held accountable and that compensation is vital for recovery, deterrence and protecting our oceans.”
The Supreme Court had also directed police and prosecutors to initiate criminal proceedings for non-compliance if the company or its agents are present in the country.
The ship’s Russian Captain Vitaly Tyutkalo has been barred from leaving Sri Lanka for over four years. According to Yoskovitz, the firm offered to pay a fine for his release but this was refused.
X-Press Feeders has attempted to limit its liability.
In July 2023, London’s Admiralty Court capped its exposure at £ 19 million ($ 25 million), though Sri Lanka is challenging that decision. A separate case filed by the Sri Lankan Government in the Singapore International Commercial Court has been stayed pending the London proceedings, with a pre-trial hearing scheduled for May 2026.
Environmental groups in Sri Lanka have called for further research into the long-term impact of the spill. While much of the visible plastic pollution was cleared soon after the incident, experts say damage to marine ecosystems will persist.
Sri Lanka’s top court is due to review the implementation of its ruling at a hearing on Thursday.
