The container ship exploded and sank, and 1 billion ticket exploded

Sunny Worldwide LogisticsIt is a logistics company with more than 20 years of transportation experience, focusing on European, American, Canadian, Australian, Southeast Asia and other markets, and is more than the owner of the cargo owner~

The Singaporean container departs from Jebel Ali, which contains about 1,500 containers, including nitric acid, other chemicals and cosmetics. A nitric acid leak occurred in a container on the deck, and the ship was denied to berth at Hamad and Hazra ports.

When the ship arrived in Colombo on May 19, 2021, the container was still on board. On May 20, a sudden fire broke out on the ship. The fire continued to spread on the 25th, which eventually led to complete damage to the ship. It sank in the waters near Sri Lanka on June 2, causing the worst marine environmental disaster in Sri Lanka's history.

Court documents show that the ship carries 1,486 containers, of which 81 were found to be loaded with toxic, harmful and dangerous chemicals. The leaking large amount of chemicals caused severe marine pollution, including 46,960 bags of low- and high-density polyethylene raw materials loaded in 20 containers, which caused at least 70-75 billion plastic particles to spread to the western coastal areas of Sri Lanka.

The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka pointed out in its verdict that the disaster caused the death of 417 sea turtles, 48 dolphins, 8 whales and a large number of fish, and the bodies of these marine organisms were washed away by the shore after the incident. The wreckage produced by the wreck—including tonnes of plastic particles used to make plastic bags—has severe pollution to the beach.

The court found that in an attempt to enter the Port of Colombo, the captain, operator and local agent of X-Press Pearl "deliberately concealed from the Port of Colombo about the real, timely, comprehensive and accurate situations that occurred from the Port of Colombo about the aforementioned ships entering Sri Lankan territorial waters for a period of time."

It is reported that the court ruled that the payment of compensation was limited to "non-state parties" known as the "X-Press Pearl Group", which were basically the owner, charterer and agent of the ship.

The court held that "X-Press Pearl Group" was ordered to pay billion in compensation, as the only polluter in the case. The first payment of US0 million by September 23, 2025, and the other 500 million should be paid within 6 months after the judgment, and the last 250 million should be paid within one year.

In response to the judgment, X-Press Feeders, the party involved, responded: "I am very disappointed with the judgment made by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka in the X-Press Pearl accident, which requires non-state parties involved in the accident to pay an initial payment of US billion in one year. We are reviewing the 361-page detailed ruling with legal counsel, insurers and other relevant stakeholders, including the International Association for Insurance and Assurance Group, to best evaluate our next steps."

It is understood that the shipowner had considered taking legal action against the shipper, but in the end it was not implemented given the small size and limited financial strength of the company.

The Supreme Court has recently included the pollution case of "X-Press Pearl" on the trial schedule on September 25, 2025. The legal dispute over this worst pollution incident in Sri Lanka's history is still pending, and the relevant litigation is expected to continue for many years.

The "X-Press Pearl" shipwreck caused huge losses, and the ruling of the Sri Lanka Supreme Court demonstrates the importance of marine environmental protection and victims' rights. The huge compensation and follow-up investigations faced by the shipping company involved also sounded the alarm for safety and compliance for the shipping industry.