UN raises alarm over X-Press Pearl compensation refusal

23 September 2025 11:29 am Views - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}} 10 Bookmark

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Colombo, Sept. 21 (Daily Mirror) - The United Nations Office in Sri Lanka has expressed concern over Singapore-based shipping company X-Press Feeders’ refusal to comply with a Supreme Court order to pay US$1 billion in compensation for the X-Press Pearl maritime disaster.

In a statement posted on X, the UN office said the company’s refusal to honour the ruling was “deeply concerning.”

“We urge the shipping company to review the scale of damages to people, coasts and marine life, and to uphold justice for communities and the ecosystem,” it added.

The UN’s remarks come in response to comments made by X-Press Feeders Chief Executive Shmuel Yoskovitz, who told AFP that complying with the judgment would have far-reaching consequences for global shipping and “set a dangerous precedent.”

Rejecting the “open-ended nature” of the penalty, Yoskovitz argued: “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.”

The X-Press Pearl, a Singapore-flagged vessel, caught fire and sank off Sri Lanka’s western coast in May 2021, causing one of the country’s worst marine pollution disasters.

Comments - 10

P Kunchithapathan Tuesday, 23 September 2025 11:48 AM

The catastrophic disaster wrought by the X-Press Pearl vessel is beyond imagination. The former government under the Rajapaksas bears full responsibility for permitting the ship to enter port despite clear knowledge that it was already ablaze. The local agent of the shipping line, in collusion with ruling party politicians, is believed to have received illicit payments. Such conduct constitutes nothing less than a grave betrayal of the nation.

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BuffaloaCitizen Tuesday, 23 September 2025 12:09 PM

If this Company refuses to pay, International Ports should mark the vessels belonging to this Company and arrest them.

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Don Tuesday, 23 September 2025 12:28 PM

If this company does a risky business, they should have enough insurance coverage. They can’t say limited liability after contributing such an environmental disaster. Sell your all properties and pay the fine. If it leads to close your company, be it. You should not be in business with this attitude. When car air bags caused mass recall, that company paid with all assets they had and went to bankruptcy. That is the nature of business. Otherwise SL should take this to UN and initiate legal action and send all directors and CEO to jail if they don’t comply with court ruling. This should be a lesson to all maritime business entities.

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TJL Tuesday, 23 September 2025 12:41 PM

Had the tweet been deleted already? How embarrassing!

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DOT Tuesday, 23 September 2025 03:30 PM

Mr. Gold ( Chain) Man knows the tricks!

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Dilakshan Senevirathne Tuesday, 23 September 2025 05:19 PM

Arjun Mahendran may be working for the shipping company too. We will bring him back here to face justice here like we brought padme and team.

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Joshua Wednesday, 24 September 2025 12:26 AM

Keep dreaming.

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Supreme Court of Sri Lanka not trusted or believed elsewhere Tuesday, 23 September 2025 07:14 PM

The Supreme Court here has rights like a Monarch, with no one even allowed to say criticise decisions by it, or the Supreme Court judges. That is not democratic, and as such, no overseas democratic country should take such a court seriously, when it has a law unto itself. It is not UN, but just some local office who is making the big fuss. The local office does nothing to forward main United Nations interests here, like ensuring human rights, like through UN HCR, so seems like Sri Lanka UN office is really another body unto itself too.

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andy fdo Wednesday, 24 September 2025 12:10 AM

It didn't cause $1billion worth of damage to Sri Lanka. Be realistic and go for a lesser amount so that it wont drag on for years on end. On what basis did they estimate the damage being one billion us dollars.

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RPG Wednesday, 24 September 2025 12:53 PM

If the Supreme Court decision was more credible, people would be more likely to take it seriously.

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