Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said that the insurance company has expressed its willingness to provide close to 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 already expressed its willingness to pay US$ 878,000 for the damage caused by the fire on the X-Press Pearl ship.
Addressing the media after an event held in Colombo on Saturday (26), the Minister said that amount is approximately Rs. 285 million, and in addition, the insurance company has agreed to pay Rs. 16 million.
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.
The money is slated to be given as compensation to the fishing community affected by the fire on board the X-Press Pearl ship and will also be given to the Marine Environment Protection Authority.