Latest news with #Indian Ocean
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Debt-plagued Maldives to host Modi, continuing to rebuild ties with lender
By Shivam Patel and Uditha Jayasinghe NEW DELHI/COLOMBO (Reuters) -Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to enhance India's development partnership with the Maldives in a two-day visit this week to the Indian Ocean archipelago, where India competes with China for influence. Modi, who landed in Male on Friday, is the first foreign leader to visit President Mohamed Muizzu after he took office in 2023 with a pledge to end the Maldives' "India first" policy, and upgraded ties with China. Muizzu's moves briefly soured relations with New Delhi, before India helped to prevent the $7.5 billion economy from defaulting on its debt as the Maldives struggled to get tourists to its white-sand beaches and luxury resorts. He has since visited both countries, the Maldives' main bilateral lenders, to secure financial support, as well as signing trade pacts with China and Turkey and initiating talks with India on a trade agreement and an investment treaty. Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said steady diplomacy had helped to rebuild ties: "There will always be events that will impact or try to intrude on the relationship. But I think this is testimony to the kind of attention that has been paid to the relationship, and including attention at the highest levels." Former Maldives foreign minister Abdulla Shahid told Reuters that Modi's visit indicated Muizzu had "decided to step back and correct the narrative". India is expected to extend a line of credit worth $565 million to the Maldives, and talks on a Free Trade Agreement are expected to formally begin. Modi will also remotely inaugurate an expansion of the International Airport on the island of Hanimadhoo, which India is helping to finance, and attend Saturday's celebration of the Maldives' 60th anniversary of independence from Britain. Solve the daily Crossword
The Independent
6 days ago
- The Independent
Sri Lankan court orders owners of container ship to pay $1 billion in marine pollution compensation
Sri Lanka's top court on Thursday ordered the owners of a Singapore-flagged container ship that sank near its capital to pay $1 billion in compensation to the island nation's government for causing the most severe marine environment catastrophe in the country's history. The container ship MV X-Press Peal, which was carrying chemicals, sank off Colombo in June, 2021 after catching fire. The Supreme Court said the incident caused 'unprecedented devastation to the marine environment of Sri Lanka' and harmed the country's economy, especially the lives of the fishing communities. Judges said the disaster led to the death of 417 turtles, 48 dolphins, eight whales and a large number of fish species that washed ashore after the incident. Debris from the ship, including several tons of plastic pellets used to make plastic bags, caused severe pollution on beaches. 'This marine environmental disaster constitutes the largest recorded marine plastic spill in the world,' the judgement said. 'It resulted in the widespread release of toxic and hazardous substances into the marine environment, poisoning ocean waters, killing marine species, and destructing phytoplankton." Due to the severe marine pollution, the government imposed a fishing ban for well over a year, depriving fishermen of their income and livelihood. The incident "continues to cause destruction and harm to Sri Lanka's marine environment,' said the judgement, signed by five supreme court judges. The judgement was given against the X-Press Pearl group that included ship's registered owner, EOS Ro Pte. Limited, and other charterers. All are based in Singapore. An agent in Sri Lanka, Sea Consortium Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd., was also named. The court said it has sufficient reasons to hold that X-Press Pearl group 'should be held accountable and liable under the Polluter Pays Principle for the pollution caused by the MV X-Press Pearl vessel.' It said the owner, operators and local agent of the ship were all liable for the payment of compensation, which should be used to restore and protect the affected marine and coastal environment. There was no immediate comment on the judgement from the owner or agent of the vessel. The court ruling came after several parties, including environment campaigners and fisher rights groups, filed litigation seeking compensation.
CNA
6 days ago
- CNA
Sri Lanka orders Singapore shipowner to pay US$1 billion over marine disaster
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's highest court on Thursday (Jul 24) ordered a Singaporean shipping firm to pay US$1 billion in damages for causing the island's worst marine pollution when its vessel sank four years ago. The Supreme Court directed Express Feeders, the owners of the MV X-Press Pearl which sank off Colombo Port in June 2021 after a fire that raged for nearly two weeks, to pay the money within a year. "The X-Press Pearl ... shall make further compensation payments as may be directed by this court," the 361-page judgement read. Environmentalists had brought the case to court, alleging that both government authorities and firm owners had failed to prevent the fire from becoming an unprecedented ecological disaster. The shipping firm initially apologised and paid US$7.85 million for the immediate cleanup and as compensation for fishermen who were deprived of their livelihoods following the catastrophic incident. They then obtained an order from London's admiralty court in July 2023, limiting their liability to a maximum of £19 million (US$25 million). Sri Lanka has appealed that decision. The Sri Lankan government also filed a lawsuit against the ship's owners in the Singapore International Commercial Court, claiming unspecified damages. That case has been put on hold pending a decision from the admiralty court in London. There was no immediate response from the Singaporean owners or their local representatives. The vessel was carrying 81 containers of "dangerous cargo", including acids and lead ingots, when it sank. Tons of microplastic granules from the ship inundated an 80km stretch of beach along Sri Lanka's western coast. Fishing was prohibited for months due to the plastic pollution. Sri Lankan authorities believe the fire was caused by a nitric acid leak, which the crew apparently knew about nine days before the blaze started.
