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flag X-Press Feeders refuses to pay $1B Sri Lankan court order for 2021 ship spill, citing global liability risks.

flag A Singapore-based shipping company, X-Press Feeders, has refused to pay a Sri Lankan Supreme Court-ordered $1 billion in damages for pollution from the 2021 sinking of its vessel, the MV X-Press Pearl, off Colombo. flag The ship, carrying hazardous materials including nitric acid and plastic pellets, caught fire and sank after being denied port access in Qatar and India due to safety concerns, contaminating an 80-kilometer stretch of coastline and disrupting fisheries. flag The company, which has spent $170 million on cleanup and compensation, argues that complying with the open-ended judgment would set a dangerous precedent, undermining established maritime liability limits and risking higher global shipping costs. flag It maintains it is willing to settle within international law but opposes the court’s potential for future payments. flag The Sri Lankan Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing on enforcement, while legal challenges continue in London and Singapore, where liability was previously capped. flag The long-term environmental impact remains uncertain, and the ship’s Russian captain has been detained for over four years.

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