X-Press Feeders rejects most of the charges for the accident to the container ship X-Press Pearl, which occurred in 2021 off the port of Colombo ( of 25 May and 3 June 2021), which last month brought the Supreme Court Sri Lanka to order an initial payment of one billion dollars within one year in connection with the loss of the ship ( of 25 July 2025).

Stressing deep concern about the recent decision of the Court, on Thursday, in a note, the company of Singapore shipping specified that the "main concern is the human cost that this ruling risks to behave. The Court - denounced X-Press Feeders - has declared fact the captain of the ship and the local agents guilty of criminal charges before the conclusion of their trials and, in the case of agents, even before they were presented Formal charges for some of the charges. The judgment orders the Attorney General to order police to investigate on the agents and to try them, despite the fact that they did not no decision-making role in the ship's operations. The commander - recalls the company's note - is already in Sri Lanka for four and a half years due to a travel ban imposed by the court. Despite offers to pay the amount of the maximum possible fine for the charges against him, remains in limbo, separated from his family and unable to resume his life or career. When the commander's actions were discussed in court - the company denounced again - he did not was neither present nor personally represented legally, and he was not given a chance to answer for the charges brought against him. The sentence, by fact, he considers him and the agents as "human guarantees" to ensure that shipowners and operators comply with it".

According to X-Press Feeders, "the court's intention to place all the blame and responsibility on the shipowners and operators of the ship is clearly evident in the judgment on the role of the Sri Lankan authorities in the incident. It exonerates the actions of the port commander and the general manager of the Merchant Navy, despite the fact that their experts have risen to and have inspected the ship without raising any alarm or immediate cause for concern, more than a week before the sinking of the X-Press Pearl. Also, ignore The ship's requests for help and the refusal by three ports (in Qatar, India and Sri Lanka) to unload containers before of the beginning of the fire. Although the court recognizes the shortcomings of the former director of Marine Environment Protection Authority in not having issued decisive and clear orders to bring the ship offshore, an action that would have minimized the damage to the environment and the economy, does not attribute any of them responsibility, despite numerous and urgent requests of shipowners. The court defined this transgression as part of the president "a clear departure from the trial collective decision-making".

"From the very beginning - recalls the note of the Singaporean company - X-Press Feeders has expressed deep regret to the people of Sri Lanka for the impact of the sinking of the X-Press Pearl and reiterated its commitment to provide full assistance to the Government of Sri Lanka in all remediation operations. While recognizing the need for compensation for any environmental damage, we believe that such compensation must be made in a fair and equitable manner, identifying shortcomings in the response and remediation operations of the Sri Lankan government and based on a damage assessment conducted by experts and scientifically valid, which does not involve a serious human impact. To limit the environmental impact, shipowners have so far paid over $150 million to remove the wreck, remove plastic pellets from beaches and compensate fishermen affected".

"For over 40 years - he concludes the note - X-Press Feeders has played a key role in the Sri Lankan trade. However, this ruling, which ignores the international maritime law, establishes a level of unprecedented risk that we, along with most of the shipping companies, we will struggle to manage. Fear the inevitable increase in import-export costs and the more wide impact on the people of Sri Lanka. We urge all stakeholders to consider the implications and ramifications of these provisional conclusions and we call for rational decisions and judgments on liability and compensation that take into account the needs of environmental restoration and compensation, while ensuring the continuity of trade for the people of Sri Lanka".