The Free Lawyers organisation claimed that although 25 coal shipments had originally been planned to ensure an uninterrupted supply for the Lakvijaya Power Plant in Norochcholai until 2 September, only 22 vessels have been unloaded so far, with one vessel leaving Sri Lankan waters without discharging its cargo and another still remaining at anchor.
Co-Convenors of the organisation, President's Counsel Maithri Gunaratne and attorney Athula de Silva alleged that the vessel 'Ana Ocean', which had been brought to Sri Lanka under an emergency procurement arrangement at a price of United States Dollars 142 per metric tonne, had departed for Visakhapatnam, India, on Tuesday (16), without unloading its coal cargo.
They said that it was the second coal vessel to leave Norochcholai without discharging its shipment. According to the organisation, the 'YASA SUN', which arrived off Puttalam on 2 May, has also remained anchored without unloading its cargo. They further claimed that they had previously raised concerns over the quality of the coal carried by both the 'MV JOSCO YONGZHOU' and the 'Ana Ocean', alleging that the ash content and several other quality indicators failed to meet the required standards.
It was also alleged that despite concerns over the quality of the cargo, the coal carried by the MV JOSCO YONGZHOU was unloaded during the Vesak weekend. The organisation further claimed that after State officials had refused to accept the cargo carried by the Ana Ocean, its supplier had written to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on 9 June, seeking permission to unload the shipment after paying a penalty.
The organisation maintained that although the Ana Ocean shipment had been rejected, making payments for the coal already unloaded from the MV JOSCO YONGZHOU would amount to fraud and corruption.
They claimed that although tenders had been awarded to two companies to supply 25 coal shipments, one vessel under the main tender had later been cancelled by the Government. They said that the authorities had previously stated that coal stocks would be sufficient to maintain operations until 2 September if all scheduled shipments arrived on time. However, they claimed that existing reserves could be exhausted around 16 days earlier than anticipated.
According to the organisation, three additional coal shipments would now have to be unloaded to ensure the uninterrupted operation of the Norochcholai Power Plant until 2 September. It added that no final decision had yet been taken regarding the unloading of the YASA SUN, which remains within Sri Lankan waters.
The organisation also alleged that payments to coal suppliers had been suspended and questioned whether the delay was linked to a shortage of foreign exchange or financial difficulties faced by the Treasury. It called on the relevant authorities to clarify the situation.
Multiple attempts to contact Energy Minister Anura Karunathilaka and Deputy subject Minister Akram Ilyas proved futile.