The Colombo Magistrate’s Court today issued an order preventing the Captain, Chief Engineer and Deputy Chief Engineer of the ‘MV X-Press Pearl’ from leaving Sri Lanka.

The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) is conducting further investigations in relation to the fire onboard the Singapore-registered container ship, police spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana said.

He stated that three statements were recorded yesterday with regard to the incident while another four statements were recorded today (01).

CID officers had recorded statements from the Captain, Chief Engineer, and the Deputy Chief Engineer of the vessel yesterday while statements had been recorded today from the Harbour Master at the Colombo Port, the wildlife conservation officer in charge of the coastal area, an officer from the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA)  and an officer from the local agent of the vessel.

After the relevant facts were reported to the court, Sri Lanka Police had obtained a court order preventing the Captain, Chief Engineer, and the Deputy Chief Engineer of the ‘MV X-Press Pearl’ from leaving the country, he said. 

The court instructed to inform the Controller of Emigration and Immigration regarding the travel ban.

In addition to this, the court also issued a directive to inspect the vessel accompanied with officers from the Government Analyst’s Department.

Meanwhile the court also ordered to obtain the documents and records of the ship, the police spokesman said.