Singapore. Singapore-based transport company X-Press Feeders said in an interview with AFP on Tuesday that it would refuse to pay $1 billion in damages ordered by Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court.

The company’s chief executive, Smuel Yoskowitz, said the compensation payments would have a “serious impact on global shipments and set a dangerous precedent”.

In June 2021, the company’s MV X-Press Pearl sank in a fire near Colombo. Nitric acid leaks, 81 containers of hazardous materials and hundreds of tons of plastic pellets were swept into the sea. The plane entered Sri Lankan waters after Qatar and India refused to unload acid.

Tons of microplastics littered an 80-kilometer stretch of Sri Lanka’s west coast, leading to months of fishing bans.

Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court in July ordered the company to pay an “initial” $1 billion in damages over a year and pay the first tranche of $250 million by Tuesday. It also ordered further payments to be made in the future.

Hanging Guillotine

“Maritime trade is based on the limitation of liability,” Yoskowitz said, rejecting uncertain liability. This decision undermines it. He claimed that this would set a dangerous precedent for future events.

According to him, this will lead to higher insurance premiums and affect consumers. The company apologized for the disaster and said it had already spent $170 million to remove the wreckage, clean up the oceans and compensate fishermen.

“We are willing to pay more, but only on the basis of a certain maritime convention and the final amount. But it is impossible to work with uncertain liabilities,” he said.

Long-term effects

Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the case on Thursday. Environmentalists have called for more research into the long-term effects of pollution.

The court has already ordered criminal proceedings to be initiated if there is no compliance. The ship’s captain, Vitaly Tyutkalo, has been barred from leaving Sri Lanka for four years. The company offered to pay a fine for his release, but it was rejected.

The Admiralty Court (London) ordered the company to limit liabilities to a maximum of £19 million in 2023, but Sri Lanka has challenged this. The Sri Lankan government has also filed a lawsuit with the Singapore International Commercial Court (ICC), which is expected to be heard in May 2026.