The Chinese fertiliser ship is currently anchored off the Sri Lankan coast near Kalutara, bordering 12 nautical miles in the jurisdiction of Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, the state fertilizer companies, which are importers of the stock of fertilizer, said that Chindavo Sea Wing Biotech had submitted several conditions to the government for the return of the ship.

One of the main demands was to make a statement to the media that the reason for taking the ship back was only to arrive without the approval of the Plant Quarantine Service.

The Chinese company has also made it a condition that the loss be paid for the return of the ship and the number of days of delay. However, when we inquired about this, the Ministry of Agriculture emphasized that no fee would be paid for the ship.

Secretary to the Ministry Prof. Udith K. Jayasinghe stated that there is no legal obligation to pay any amount for an unordered item.