SRI LANKA SEEKS $40M IN DAMAGES OVER SHIP FIRE THAT POLLUTED PORT

Sri Lanka wants $40 million in damages from the operator of a ship that left massive pollution when it caught fire off the country's west coast, officials said Saturday, Ishara S. Kodikara reported for Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Ports and shipping minister Rohitha Abeygunawardena said an interim claim had been lodged with X-Press Feeders, which controls the Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl. The vessel has been submerged in seas off Colombo since June 2 after burning for almost two weeks and releasing tons of plastic raw materials that swamped local beaches.

Sri Lankan environmentalists have called it the "worst marine disaster" in the country's history. "In addition to this (claim), we will also seek reimbursement of the cost of putting out the fire," Abeygunawardena said, adding that the full damage to the environment was still being assessed.

Sri Lanka has sought help from Australia in studying the impact on the local marine economy, which has been hit by a fishing ban imposed since the disaster.

Fisheries minister Kanchana Wijesekera said the ban along an 80-kilometer (50 miles) stretch of coastline was lifted on Saturday except for in the immediate vicinity of the wreckage.

"About 20,000 families of fishermen were affected by the ban," Wijesekera said. "Many of the beaches have been cleared of plastic waste from the ship." Officials said about 1,200 tons of plastic pellets and other debris scooped from the beaches were being stored in 45 shipping containers.

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