Sri Lanka: Ship carrying rejected Chinese fertiliser denied entry to Colombo Port

The bulk carrier ‘Hippo Spirit’ is carrying tonnes of rejected Chinese fertilizer from Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co., Ltd to Sri Lanka.

Despite refusal to allow the ship to enter Colombo Port, the Hippo Spirit has been moving close to the Colombo Port, newsfirst.lk reported
The Harbour Master of Colombo Port confirmed to the website that the vessel will reach Colombo for Supplies Replenishment.

However, he said that the ship will not be allowed to enter Colombo Port and a supply boat will be assigned for replenishment services. What is important to note is that the Hippo Spirit decided to reach Colombo for replenishment, after passing the Hambantota and Galle Ports, which were located along its route to Colombo.

Documents seen by News 1st reveal the the Hippo Spirit is requesting to replenish its vegetable stocks.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka in a clarification on the rejected fertilizer samples by M/S Qingdao Seawin said the Ceylon Fertilizer Company received samples of the fertilizer on July 28 and the National Plant Quarantine Service (NPQS) should have done its tests on them before awarding the bid, signing the contract and awarding the import permit.

Sri Lanka’s State Fertilizer Companies that ordered the fertilizer from China told newsfirst.lk that the samples mentioned by the Chinese Embassy were not received by Sri Lanka in an official capacity.

They said that 10 samples each weighing 1 kg should have been sent to Sri Lanka for testing, as per procedure. However, Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co., Ltd sent only 500 g for tests.

They also said that such a small sample cannot be released to the National Plant Quarantine Service for tests. The second sample was sent in August and the NPQS confirmed in September that it was contaminated with harmful bacteria.

The State Fertilizer Companies also noted that after Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co. Ltd was informed about the test results, the local agent of the Chinese company went with police protection and submitted a sample for a third time.

However, the State Fertilizer Companies said by the time the samples were handed over again, Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co., Ltd had already deployed the Hippo Spirit with a consignment of Organic Fertilizer, to Sri Lanka.

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

However, the Hippo Spirit ship didn’t turn back and left Singapore declaring it would be heading to Colombo Port.

Data available online showed the Hippo Spirit ship in Hambantota on 24th October under the name Seiyo Explorer.

The Hippo Spirit and the Seiyo Explorer both share the same IMO number, and therefore it can be confirmed the Hippo Spirit is the Seiyo Explorer.

The IMO Ship Identification Number is a unique seven-digit number that remains unchanged through a vessel’s lifetime and is linked to its hull, regardless of any changes of names, flags, or owners.

In another development, Chinese Organic Fertilizer manufacturer Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co., LTD has said they reserve the right to pursue legal action against the party issuing test reports violating the scientific test results and the media who falsely disseminates the test results.

The statement read “It is incomprehensible that Sri Lanka has does not honour the contracts and mislead its people with false test results at a time of soaring global fertilizer prices and shortage.”

It added that the raw materials used in the organic fertilizer which it exported to Sri Lanka are humic acid, amino acid, seaweed, and that these raw materials themselves do not contain the harmful bacteria Erwinia as reported by Colombo, and claimed that they are very safe and high-efficiency organic fertilizer.

Quindao Seawin Biotech in their release states “the false report that a Chinese company exported organic fertilizer containing harmful microorganisms to Sri Lanka misled many people and consumers who don’t not know the truth, and caused a great obstacle to fair trade of export enterprise”.

The company states that what the media and National Plant Quarantine Service officials disclosed that the products contained Erwinia, is not consistent with the facts, and that it is a serious smear behavior.

The company goes on to note that the production process of this organic fertilizer that was exported, includes a necessary process of high-temperature sterilization at 600℃ for 20 min.

It adds that the lethal condition of the detected Erwinia is 45-50℃, and can be completely eliminated in 10 mins.

(With UNI inputs)