Captain in court

X-Press Feeders, operators of the container ship X-Press Pearl that caught alight and sank outside the Port of Colombo in Sri Lanka with 1486 containers onboard, confirmed the latest action following the incident.

“Ashore the vessel’s Captain has appeared in court without charge supported by company lawyers under Section 12 of the MPPA. He was released on bail,” said X-Press Feeders.

The company said the X-Press Pearl’s bow and forecastle deck are now submerged, and the forward section of the hull is settling on the seabed at a depth of 21m.

SLPA not accountable

Sri Lanka Ports Authority published comment by Honourable Rohitha Abeygunawardena, Minister of Ports and Shipping, who clarified that the Port of Colombo is not accountable for the incident.

“We see one allegation in recent days that is this issue was caused upon reaching the port of Colombo despite knowing that the ship was rejected by other ports. But we can clearly say that this ship had anchored in the outer port of Colombo only after entering all the three ports of Jabel Ali Port in Dubai, Hamad Port in Qatar and Hazira Port in India as scheduled her voyage.”

The Minister also stated that the SLPA is taking responsible action to manage the situation: “The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) has taken steps to keep tugboats at the relevant locations, even during inclement weather, to minimize environmental damage.”

Oil monitoring ongoing

X-Press Feeders noted that the salvors have reported no noticeable fuel oil spill, but some minor debris from the ship has been collected.

The salvors will remain at the scene to deal with any possible debris supported by the Sri Lankan Navy and Coast Guard, who have oil spill response capabilities on standby.

Representatives of ITOPF and Oil Spill Response are monitoring updates from the scene and are ready to deploy in case of any reported spill.