Sri Lanka seeks $40m in damages over ship fire

Sri Lanka is seeking $40 million in damages from the operator of a ship that left massive pollution when it caught fire off the country's west coast, officials said yesterday. Ports and shipping minister Rohitha Abeygunawardena said an interim claim had been lodged with X-Press Feeders, which controls the Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl. The vessel has been submerged in seas off Colombo since June 2 after burning for almost two weeks and releasing tonnes of plastic raw materials that swamped local beaches. Sri Lankan environmentalists have called it the "worst marine disaster" in the country's history. On May 20 the X-Press Pearl reported an onboard acid leak and caught fire just as it was due to enter the Colombo harbour.