$1 Billion Judgment Ordered Following Container Ship Spill of Plastic Pellets and Chemicals

In a landmark case initiated by IPEN member Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ), a Sri Lankan court has ordered owner groups of the X-Press Pearl container ship to pay a minimum $1 billion USD compensation to the country for the damage and ongoing environmental costs linked to the massive spill of plastic pellets and toxic chemicals after an explosion on the ship led to it sinking off the coast of Sri Lanka in 2021.

A UN report called the incident the single largest plastic spill in history and the event has come to epitomize the ongoing global problem of spilled plastic pellets as “the oil spills of our time.” Plastics are made from fossil fuels and chemicals and when massive spills occur, they leave a wake of threats to the environment and health from the hazardous chemicals found in plastics.

“Sri Lanka took an important step with this judgement that holds polluters responsible for the damage they cause,” said Hemantha Withanage, co-founder of CEJ. “But we need this plastic problem addressed at the root cause: plastic overproduction and the use of toxic chemicals in plastics. A meaningful Plastics Treaty needs to be adopted to stop the massive production of toxic plastics that threaten the global environment and the human right to a healthy environment.” The Plastics Treaty negotiations resume in Geneva this August 5-14.

In just the past few months, other massive plastic pellet spills have occurred off the coasts of the UK and India. A 2022 report by IPEN on the X-Press Pearl incident noted numerous spills of plastic pellets, finding that thousands of containers are lost at sea annually, suggesting that most losses of plastics are never reported. The report noted that the X-Press Pearl carried 1,486 containers, including 81 with hazardous chemicals, and more than 84 billion plastic pellets (1,680 tonnes).

In a 2023 study, testing on recycled plastic pellets collected by IPEN member groups from thirteen countries identified and quantified 491 chemicals, including pesticides, industrial chemicals, PCBs, and other toxic substances. The results show that plastic recycling spreads toxic chemicals uncontrollably and is not a solution to the plastics crisis.

“The science shows that plastics already pose existential threats to the healthy Earth ecosystems we need to thrive,” said IPEN Co-chair Pamela Miller. “Yet industry plans to triple plastic production in the coming decades. We cannot sustain this toxic production. At the Plastics Treaty talks, delegates must heed the lessons from Sri Lanka and around the world and adopt a strong agreement that limits plastic production and moves to end the threats to our health and the environment from toxic plastic chemicals.”

In the Sri Lankan judgment, the five-judge panel found that the X-Press Pearl owner groups deliberately concealed critical information about the ship’s hazardous cargo, violated international maritime laws, and caused the worst recorded marine plastic spill in history, with toxic debris washing ashore along Sri Lanka’s western, southern, and northern coasts. Based on the “polluter pays” principle, the court ordered the owners to make an initial payment of $1 billion USD, with potential future payments. The judgment also directs the Attorney General and Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to pursue criminal prosecution of the offenders, including the corporate owners for suppressing evidence.