Hippo Spirit is not a threat to National Security - Dullas

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Hippo Spirit bulk-carried anchored off Sri Lanka's West Coast is not a threat to Sri Lanka's National Security or Sovereignty, said Media Minister Dullas Alahapperuma on Tuesday (16).

Addressing the weekly Cabinet Media Briefing, the Minister said the Hippo Spirit is not a ship carrying weapons, to threaten Sri Lanka's National Security.

"There is no diplomatic spat between China and Sri Lanka, and the Chinese Ambassador has made it clear," he said adding that there is an opinion that the Letter of Credit with respect to the Chinese Fertilizer consignment could have a technical issue.

At the same time, Sri Lanka's Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila believes the Hippo Spirit is positioned close to Sri Lanka until the judicial proceedings over the fertilizer consignment are concluded.

"There are no reports to claim that the fertilizer is being dumped to contaminate the sea or if the ship contains weapons or drugs," he said.

The Hippo Spirit is carrying tonnes of rejected Chinese Fertilizer from Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co., Ltd to Sri Lanka.

On the 22nd of September, the Hippo Spirit ship carrying 20,000 metric tonnes of organic fertilizer left for Colombo from China’s Qingdao Port.

But the ship was diverted to Singapore after harmful bacteria was detected in the samples of this fertilizer shipment.

The Hippo Spirit ship that didn’t return to China had left Singapore declaring it would be heading to the Colombo Port.

In early November 2021, the vessel was seen some 61 nautical miles away from the coast of Weligama, in the southern region of the Sea of Sri Lanka, and later moved closer to the Port of Colombo.