The Supreme Court has ordered that Singapore based X-Press Feeder shipping company to pay $1 billion in damages due to the environmental and economic fallout from the X-Press Pearl container ship fire.
According to the judgment, this compensation is to be directed to the Treasury Secretary.
The ruling also highlighted that the then Minister responsible, Nalaka Godahewa, along with the Marine Pollution Prevention Authority, failed to protect fundamental human rights by not acting to avert the disaster.
The decision came from a five-judge panel led by Chief Justice Murdu Fernando, who was addressing fundamental rights petitions submitted by various parties, including His Eminence Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, regarding the impact of the incident.
