Environmental activist Dr Ajantha Perera, one of the petitioners who obtained the Supreme Court ruling on compensation for the MV X-Press Pearl disaster, has questioned the total compensation received so far and how the funds have been handled, alleging that the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) had, in violation of applicable procedures, dealt directly with the relevant shipping company and its insurer and received money from them.
Speaking to The Daily Morning, she said she had written to the Treasury Secretary seeking details of the compensation received for the MV X-Press Pearl disaster, but was directed to the Justice Ministry instead.
“I wrote to the Treasury Secretary and I asked him how much we have received in total. Then, he seemed to be unable to give me an answer, and instead asked me to ask the Justice Ministry. But, the Ministry has nothing to do with it because the judgment says that the money that should come as compensation should be taken by the Treasury. It should be deposited with the Treasury,” she said.
Dr Perera said information she had obtained from lawyers dealing with the matter indicated that only around Rs. 300 million had been deposited with the Treasury, adding that she was dissatisfied with the lack of information provided by the Treasury Secretary.
“When I speak to lawyers, what they say is that only Rs. 300 million has been deposited. Unfortunately, the Treasury Secretary seems to think that this is a huge secret that he has to maintain. There should be no secrecy about this at all,” she said.
She further claimed that MEPA had sought and obtained money directly from the shipping company through the vessel’s Protection and Indemnity (P&I) Club insurer for various purposes during the legal proceedings, including payments connected to the collection of plastic pellets from the marine environment.
“When the case was going on, MEPA was asking for money from the shipping company through the P&I Club for various things. MEPA has been collecting money from them, for instance, by indicating that there was a plastic pellet collection. Then, the money should be given to fishermen,” Dr Perera said.
She alleged that MEPA, as a State institution, should not have dealt directly with the company or its insurer in this manner, claiming that all compensation payments should have been handled through the Treasury.
“A State institution can't do that. I also lodged a complaint with the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) and requested that this be investigated. Now, there is an allegation by fishermen that they didn't receive money. This is a huge problem that we have. The only person who should deal with this is the Treasury Secretary. He should collect money and then give it to MEPA and other agencies. That's the normal way to work with finances,” she said.
Multiple attempts to contact MEPA and Deputy Fisheries, Aquatic, and Ocean Resources Minister Rathna Gamage proved futile.
Dr Perera had previously lodged a complaint with CIABOC calling for an investigation into allegations concerning several State institutions and an alleged meeting between President and Finance Minister Anura Kumara Dissanayake and representatives of the X-Press Pearl insurer. The latter allegation was denied by the President’s Media Division.
The X-Press Pearl caught fire off the coast of Colombo on 20 May 2021 and was engulfed in flames by 27 May before being declared a total loss. The vessel sank on 2 June 2021 while being towed to deeper waters after burning for 12 days.
The disaster released hazardous chemicals and plastic pellets into the sea, causing extensive damage to Sri Lanka's marine environment, fishing communities and coastal ecosystems. It has since been described as Sri Lanka's worst marine ecological disaster.