X-Press Pearl Archives - The Loadstar

X-Press Pearl claims case reopened after allegations of corruption

Angelo Mathais India correspondent — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 12:29:46 +0000

The 2021 X-Press Pearl fire, reportedly the worst maritime disaster in Sri Lanka, has become controversial amid allegations of corruption in handling compensation claims under the previous government.
The island nation had a political leadership change in September, with left-leaning Anura Kumara Dissanayake elected as its new president.
Containership X-Press Pearl, owned by Singapore-based X-Press Feeders, burned for almost two weeks before sinking off the Sri Lankan coast, sparking serious environmental concerns. The ...

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Salvage team prepares to remove wreck of X-Press Pearl

Nick Savvides — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 14:23:41 +0000

Shanghai Salvage Company (SCC) has been signed to remove the burned-out wreck of the X-Press Pearl.
Cargo on the box ship caught fire in May off the coast of Sri Lanka, and the blaze spread through the vessel which eventually sank in shallow water. The ship now sits on the seabed with its superstructure above the waterline.
SCC has established a salvage team and has started to assemble the necessary equipment for the ...

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Port fires spark suspension of handling dangerous goods at Shanghai

Nick Savvides — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 13:52:48 +0000

Shanghai authorities have suspended the land transport of containerised non-essential dangerous goods after two recent fires in the port.
The suspension will be in force until 2 July, and follows the most recent fire on 17 June, giving officials time to develop measures to improve the safety of transporting such cargo.
Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG), which operates the majority of the terminals in the world’s busiest container port, said last week’s ...

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Police search for ‘missing’ X-Press Pearl agent

Nick Savvides — Tue, 15 Jun 2021 13:31:47 +0000

Following the arrest and subsequent release of the captain of the X-Press Pearl, Sri Lanka’s Attorney General yesterday advised police to also arrest the carrier’s agent in the country.
According to local press reports, Sri Lankan detectives visited the Sea Consortium Lanka offices, X-Press Feeders’ agency office in Colombo, and the home address of the agency’s MD and chairman, Arjuna Hettiarachchi, who is required to make a statement to the CID but failed ...

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Intense fire left low risk of oil pollution from wreck of X-Press Pearl

Nick Savvides — Wed, 09 Jun 2021 13:32:00 +0000

As salvors move in on the twisted, burned out hull of the X-Press Pearl, its owner and operator believes further oil pollution in the sea is unlikely, as the temperatures at the peak of the blaze will have “incinerated” any remaining fuel.
The aft of the vessel’s hull is now on the seabed in water around 20 metres deep, with the forward part of the ship still afloat. Salvage teams have ...

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X-Press Pearl owner apologises for environmental and economic damage

Nick Savvides — Fri, 04 Jun 2021 13:33:53 +0000

Shmuel Yoskovitz, CEO of X-Press Feeders, owner of the stricken containership X-Press Pearl, has apologised for the environmental and economic damage caused by the fire onboard, which raged for 13 days.
Shipments of plastic pellets, called nurdles and used in the manufacture of goods, were among the cargo onboard and washed up on the beach in large quantities.
The pellets are difficult to collect, easily carried by the tide and attract toxins ...

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Insurers brace as X-Press Pearl blaze costs soar after environmental damage

Nick Savvides — Thu, 03 Jun 2021 13:33:39 +0000

The owner of the nitric acid cargo that leaked on the X-Press Pearl “should have known better” and should have packaged the cargo more securely, according to nn industry expert.
The source, who did not want to be named, said the cargo was correctly declared but not properly packed, resulting in a leak, which is thought to have interacted with other cargo, leading to a fire and the total loss of ...

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X-Press Pearl ‘a total loss’ and hits rock bottom, despite efforts to move it

Nick Savvides — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 13:20:37 +0000

The smouldering wreck of the X-Press Pearl has settled onto the ocean floor after water flooded the engine room, according to the latest information from its owner’s spokesman.
Even though the aft of the vessel had settled on the seabed, the forward portion of the ship was still afloat and salvors had hoped to attach a tow line to move the ship away from the Sri Lankan coastline.
Experts believe the vessel ...

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X-Press Pearl captain and chief engineer detained in police probe into fire

.Mark Lowe — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 14:13:58 +0000

The captain of the X-Press Pearl, which has been burning off the coast of Colombo, Sri Lanka for nearly two weeks, has been detained in the country, along with the chief engineer and deputy chief engineer, by order of Colombo Magistrates Court today.
Local reports suggest police enquiries have begun into how the vessel caught fire, and the steps taken by the crew to deal with unstable chemical cargo thought to ...

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