According to local news, an interim payment has been given to the Sri Lankan government by the insurers of the X-Press Pearl, a ship that went down two years ago off the western coast of Sri Lanka.
In particular, local news sources report that on Sunday, the Minister of Justice of Sri Lanka, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, stated that an interim payment of 890,000 US dollars was given to the Sri Lankan government by the insurers of the X-Press Pearl.
To remind, on May 20, 2021, the X-Press Pearl caught fire and after 12 days sank off the coast of Sri Lanka. All of the containers were lost or damaged, several of them containing low-density polyethylene (LDPE) pellets which ruptured and coated nearby beaches. After the accident, fishing bans were imposed and clean-up operations began.
According to the Minister, the funds will be used to compensate fishermen who lost their livelihoods in the marine tragedy and cover the cost of beach clean-up activities conducted by the marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA).
The Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) is the apex body responsible for the prevention, controlling, and managing pollution in Sri Lanka’s marine environment. In May, the authority was tasked to develop a guideline setting out action to be taken in the event of a disaster, such as the X-Press Pearl Maritime Disaster.
