Parliament committee to probe New Diamond and X-press Pearl incidents

A Parliament committee has been appointed to investigate the MT New Diamond and X-press Pearl incidents.

Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said that the Select Committee of Parliament to investigate into and to make suitable recommendations relating to the disasters caused by New Diamond and X-press Pearl Vessels in the Maritime Zone of Sri Lanka will be headed by MP (Dr.) Ramesh Pathirana.

MPs (Dr.) Suren Raghavan, Diana Gamage, (Prof.) G. L. Peiris, Rauff Hakeem, Vijitha Herath, (Dr.) Sarath Weerasekera, Niroshan Perera, Ajith Mannapperuma, Nimal Lanza, Thushara Indunil Amarasena, (Dr.) Kavinda Heshan Jayawardena, Akila Ellawala, Nalaka Bandara Kottegoda, and Madhura Withanage have been appointed to serve in the committee.

X-Press Pearl was a Singapore-registered container ship which caught fire off the coast of Colombo, in May 2021.

The vessel was engulfed in flames by 27 May 2021 and declared a total loss. It was still afloat, and the fire was thought to be under control by Sri Lankan firefighters by the late hours of 27 May 2021.

After burning for 12 days, the vessel sank on 2 June as it was being towed to deeper waters.

The Attorney General (AG) has already filed a claim in the High Court of Singapore over the X-Press Pearl incident involving six defendants.

MT New Diamond was a very large crude carrier. On 3 September 2020, the ship caught fire off the western coast of Sri Lanka, resulting in the death of a Filipino crew member. After burning intermittently for almost a week, the fire was reported to be extinguished by 11 September. (Colombo Gazette)