Colombo: Sri Lanka's highest court on Thursday 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 $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 pounds ($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 80-kilometre (50-mile) 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.

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