The Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) still remains undecided whether to pursue legal action to get compensation for the worst maritime disaster to hit Sri Lanka.
It is now 18 months since X-Press Pearl caught fire off Colombo, and just six months remain to seek redress through courts.
MEPA chairperson Darshani Lahandapura has told BBC Sinhala Service the attorney general or the Australian law firm that provides legal advice on the matter is yet to make any official intimation.
An expert involved in a consultant capacity said that even if the matter is taken to courts, the extent of damage to the environment cannot be determined by 20 May 2023.
Extensive damage to the coastal environment and marine life were caused by the May 2021 sinking of the ship.
At the time, it had been carrying 25 tons of nitric acid and 1,486 container-loads of other chemicals and cosmetics.
