(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) – The Minister of Justice Ali Sabry has stated that priority will be given to the affected fishermen in the distribution of compensation for the damage caused by the fire on the X-Press Pearl container ship.
He stated this at a discussion held yesterday (05) at the Ministry of Justice with the participation of Minister Rohitha Abeygunawardena, State Ministers Nalaka Godahewa and Kanchana Wijesekera and Attorney General Sanjaya Rajaratnam.
The current situation of the work done to obtain compensation for the damage caused by the fire on the ship and the committee appointed to assess the damage was discussed at the meeting.
Attention was also paid to removing containers containing hazardous materials that have been sunk in the ocean along with the burnt ship. The Minister pointed out that immediate steps should be taken for the removal of the sunken containers. It was decided at this meeting that the report of the committee appointed to look into the matter should be submitted expeditiously.
The report of the committee appointed to report on the damage caused to the economy in obtaining compensation is due to be submitted within this week.
The discussion also focused on studies conducted by UN international experts on the damage in Sri Lanka.
Several government officials were also present on the occasion.
