 "A Liberian-flagged container vessel MSC ELSA 3 sinks off Kerala Coast, India. File image/ Reuters")
Three capital ships, ICG Samarth, ICG Saksham, and ICG Vikram, were deployed off the coast of Kochi on Monday, and a pollution response vessel sailed from Mumbai to help prevent a marine disaster caused by chemical and oil-laden containers washing ashore from the Liberian ship MSC ELSA 3, which capsized and sank near Thottappally harbour in Alappuzha the previous morning.
Tug boats were also used in the rapid response to transport the 29 cargo containers and other debris, including thermocol, powder, and textiles, that had been detected floating off the coast of Kerala.
Union shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who took stock of the response at a meeting with the DG and secretary of shipping, wrote on X that all efforts were focused on “complete salvage of marine fuel and other hazardous materials” transported in the containers.
“The pollution response vessel Sagar Prahari is en route to the site. Regular aerial surveillance is being carried out using Dornier aircraft equipped with the MSS 6000 system to monitor any oil spillage. All four company representatives of MSC have arrived in Kochi,” he said.
The DG of Shipping is investigating the circumstances behind the Liberian vessel’s catastrophic “26-degree list” (tilt) towards the starboard side while it was around 38 nautical miles southwest of Kochi.
The vessel sank 14.6 nautical miles off Thottappally at 7:50 a.m. on Sunday.
“The logbook should say if there were any collisions or other impediments on the way. When exactly they realised the listing should find mention too,” an official stated.
Impact Shorts
View AllThe mercantile marine department in Kochi has previously issued a pollution responsibility notice to the vessel owners, M/s MSC, under the Merchant Shipping Act of 1958.
MSC has engaged TT Salvage to handle container recovery, oil removal, and environmental cleanup.
CM Pinarayi Vijayan called another emergency meeting on Monday to assess the situation, following which his office announced a set of actions aimed at protecting the coastal population, avoiding an environmental disaster, and coordinating response mechanisms including state and national agencies.