X-Press Feeders, the former operator of the container ship X-Press Pearl, has expressed concern over a ruling by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka requiring an initial payment of USD 1 billion within one year in relation to the vessel’s casualty.
The company stated that the judgment effectively finds the vessel’s Master and local Agents guilty of criminal charges before trials have concluded, and in the case of the Agents, before formal charges have been filed on some allegations.
The Court has directed the Attorney General to require police to investigate the Agents further and prosecute them, despite their lack of a decision-making role in vessel operations.
According to the company, the Master has been unable to leave Sri Lanka for four and a half years due to a court-ordered travel ban, despite offers to deposit the maximum fine for the charges he faces.
The company criticized the court for exonerating the actions of Sri Lankan port authorities despite earlier inspections of the vessel and for ignoring the vessel’s requests for assistance and the refusal by three ports in Qatar, India, and Sri Lanka to offload a container before the fire began.
It also noted that the court acknowledged failings by the former Director of MEPA in not ordering the vessel offshore but did not assign liability.
X-Press Feeders said it has paid more than USD 150 million to remove the wreck, clean nurdles from beaches, and compensate fishermen.
The company warned that the judgment ignores international maritime law and could increase import-export costs, impacting the Sri Lankan population. It called for decisions that ensure environmental rehabilitation and fair compensation while maintaining viable trade.
X-Press Feeders is a privately owned global container shipping group headquartered in Singapore, operating an extensive network of feeder services across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. It acts as a common carrier, transporting containers for major shipping lines without engaging in direct retail freight forwarding.