The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) on Thursday (15 January) issued a correction order for an article published by Lanka News Web, a trilingual news portfolio in Sri Lanka, referring the decision of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, which ordered an initial payment of USD 1 billion within a year, in relation to the X-Press Pearl disaster in 2021:
Dear Editor of Lanka News Web,
We refer to your article published on 9 December titled “Why Singapore Resists Paying Compensation for the MV X-Press Pearl Disaster”. Several parts of the article inaccurately attribute, directly and indirectly, positions and statements to the Republic of Singapore and the Singapore Government. These inaccuracies require correction to avoid misleading readers. Our requests for the necessary corrections are set out below.
Incorrect suggestion that Singapore was issued a compensation order and has refused to comply
The headline and various parts of the article state that “Singapore” was issued a compensation order by the Sri Lankan Supreme Court and has refused, or is unable, to comply. The word “Singapore” used in this context would ordinarily be understood to refer to the Republic of Singapore and the Singapore Government.
It is factually incorrect to suggest that the Republic of Singapore and/or the Singapore Government were issued a compensation order which they have refused, or are unable, to comply with. The judgment of the Sri Lanka Supreme Court in July 2025 was made against the vessel operator, among others. The Republic of Singapore and the Government of Singapore were not parties to the court proceedings and hence no such court order has been issued against the Republic of Singapore and the Singapore Government
We ask that the headline and all related text be amended to remove any suggestion that Singapore was directed to pay compensation or is refusing to comply with a court directive.
Misattribution of views in the article to the Singapore Government
The article attributes various views and positions to the “Singaporean authorities”, “Singapore”, “Singapore agencies”, “Its agencies”, and “in Singapore’s view”. These references would inevitably lead readers to interpret the views cited as those of the Singapore Government or its “agencies”. This is inaccurate. The views and positions referenced in the article do not originate from the Singapore Government or any agent of the Singapore Government
We ask that the article be amended to clearly identify the actual source of these views so they are not presented as the Singapore Government’s positions.
Related: X-Press Feeders calls for ‘rational decision-making’ following USD 1 billion Sri Lanka ruling
Related: X-Press Feeders declines to pay USD 1 billion Sri Lankan court order
Photo credit: Sri Lanka Air Force – SLAF Media
Published: 16 January, 2025
