The Minister of Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reform Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe has said that the insurance company has expressed its willingness to provide approximately Rs. 291 million as an interim compensation without prejudice to the case related to the X-Press Pearl incident. The Minister said the insurance company has expressed its willingness to pay US$ 878,000 as an interim payment for the damage caused by the fire on the X-Press Pearl ship.
Addressing the media after an event held in Colombo Saturday (26), Minister Rajapakshe said that amount is approximately 285 million rupees, and in addition, the insurance company has agreed to pay 16 million rupees in Sri Lankan currency.
The Minister said the insurance company has agreed to provide this compensation without affecting the case even though the case is pending in the Singapore court. This money is to be paid as compensation to the fishing community affected by the fire on board the X-Press Pearl ship and will be given to the Marine Environment Protection Authority.