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India Today
15-06-2025
- General
- India Today
A sea full of troubles for Kerala
(NOTE: This article was originally published in the India Today issue dated June 23, 2025)In the span of just two weeks, Kerala's 600-kilometre shoreline—a ribbon of emerald backwaters and bustling fishing hamlets—has been rattled by two catastrophic maritime mishaps involving cargo ships, sending shockwaves through its coastal communities and unfurling environmental red first blow came on May 25, when the Liberian-flagged MSC Elsa 3, a hulking vessel carrying 643 containers, succumbed to a suspected mechanical failure and sank 14.6 nautical miles off the Thottappally coast. The ship, sailing between the Vizhinjam and Kochi ports, had 24 crew members, rescued well in time. But the real trouble lay beneath the waves: several containers of hazardous cargo, now submerged or bobbing ashore in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Alappuzha. Salvage crews are still racing to prevent the ship's fuel tanks from leaking oil, but the greater menace may be the plastic nurdles—tiny, insidious pellets used in plastic manufacturing—scattered across the water, a synthetic blizzard in the middle of fish-breeding Kerala's coast was still catching its breath, the sea had other plans. On June 9, the Singapore-registered MV Wan Hai 503, a floating warehouse of 650 containers, erupted in flames and explosions further north, 43 nautical miles off the Azhikkal coast. The ship, bound from Colombo to Mumbai, had 22 crew members. Four are missing and two of the 18 rescued have severe burns. Five coast guard ships and the navy's INS Surat were deployed, but the fire, fed by volatile cargo—nitrocellulose, benzophenone, magnesium, turpentine, ethanol—proved a stubborn adversary. Adding to the peril, the vessel's 2,000 tonnes of marine oil and 240 tonnes of diesel sit precariously close to 32 tonnes of alcohol, making for a lethally inflammable cocktail. 'Our priority is to carry out salvage operations and minimise the oil spill. The task is very challenging,' says Commander Atul Pillai, defence PRO for Kerala and AFTER THE WRECKBack in Kochi, the bureaucratic machinery has lurched into motion. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has set up two high-level committees—one at the state level and another at the district level—to coordinate relief and environmental assessments. 'The state has taken all necessary precautions [to contain] maritime casualties and is conducting environmental and social impact studies on the Kerala coast,' says chief secretary A. Jayathilak. 'Now, our priority is to assess [immediate] losses and extend relief to the affected coastal communities.' The state, after some foot-dragging, has also filed a criminal case against Mediterranean Shipping Company, the Geneva-headquartered operator of the MSC Elsa 3. With the southwest monsoon back at orange alert levels and a statewide trawling ban in effect since June 10, the dual disasters have dealt a double blow to Kerala's 1.13 million-strong fishing community. 'These shipwrecks have compounded the fisherfolk's hardships,' says T.J. Anjalose, state president of the All India Trade Union Congress. 'They are finding more plastic than fish. The state must compensate them for the losses and press for a thorough investigation by the Directorate General of Shipping.'The predominantly fish-eating state is also increasingly concerned about the toxic pollution washing up along its once-pristine coastlines. Dr Anu Gopinath, head of the aquatic environment management department at Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) in Kochi, has warned of serious long-term consequences. 'We must conduct detailed monitoring on the impact of the shipwrecks. The Wan Hai vessel has tonnes of inflammable and toxic substances, including pesticides, that may threaten aquatic ecosystems with far-reaching and serious consequences,' she says. The Kochi-based Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), initially tasked with investigating coastal pollution after the MSC Elsa 3 wreck, has now begun collecting seawater samples near the Wan Hai mishap site as well to detect the presence of harmful chemicals. As salvage crews toil against time and tide, Kerala finds itself at an inflection point. V.J. Mathew, former chairman of the Kerala Maritime Board, argues that with the Vizhinjam port expanding, the state needs a permanent maritime monitoring system and tougher legal mechanisms. 'Shipping companies must be held accountable,' he says. The immediate crisis will fade, as all crises do. But without urgent reforms—stricter regulations and enforcement for hazardous cargo movement and long-term ecological surveillance—Kerala's fragile marine habitats, and the lives that depend on them, may be doomed to relive these disasters, again and to India Today MagazineTune InMust Watch
Indian Express
10-06-2025
- General
- Indian Express
On fire off Kerala coast, cargo ship starts tilting; containers start drifting towards shore
A day after it caught fire off the coast of Kerala, a Singapore-flagged container ship with hazardous and flammable cargo is still on fire and has begun to tilt, the Coast Guard said. It also said that more containers have fallen off the ship on Tuesday. The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has alerted that some of the containers would wash up along the Kerala coast. The Coast Guard said the fire and explosions on the ship are now mainly in the middle part of the ship. 'The forward‑bay fire is now under control, though thick smoke remains. Vessel is listing approximately 10 to 15 degrees to port (left side). More containers have fallen off the ship,' it said. Coast Guard ships Samudra Prahari and Sachet are conducting firefighting operations and boundary cooling. Another ship, Samarth, is being deployed from Kochi, the Coast Guard said. The defence spokesperson in Kochi, Commander Atul Pillai, said, 'Of the 22 crew in the ship, 18 rescued persons were brought to Mangaluru port on Monday night and handed over to the shipping agent for hospital care. Despite adverse conditions, two Coast Guard ships had gone close to the ship for firefighting. Using waterjet nozzles, the ships have tried to cool down the burning container vessel. On Tuesday morning, a Dornier aircraft was deployed for aerial surveillance, and after that, the way ahead will be decided.' He said searches are still underway for the missing crew. 'Navy ship INS Sutlej is also at the location. INS Suraj, which brought the rescued crew to Mangaluru, has returned to the spot to enhance the operations. Search operations are still on for the missing four crew. The shipping firm has already appointed a salvage master,' he said. The state disaster management authority on Tuesday released a list of the cargo aboard the vessel, which carried 157 containers. The cargo description (container manifest) shows the vessel has been carrying environmentally hazardous material in liquid and solid forms, and various types of flammable liquids. The cargo also includes printing ink, lithium batteries, naphthalene (crude and refined), and pesticides. Meanwhile, INCOIS, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, has predicted that the containers, debris and other items that have fallen off the ship would drift south-southeast for the next three days, and a few of the containers could beach along the Kerala coast between Kozhikode and Kochi. 'Based on the simulation outputs generated by INCOIS using its Search and Rescue Aid Tool (SARAT), the containers are likely to continue to drift in the ocean for the next three days and might take longer to beach. However, caution is advised about a few containers beaching between Kozhikode and Kochi,' INCOIS said in an official communication. The ship contains 100 tonnes of bunker oil, but it is not clear how much of it has spilled. 'The simulated spilled oil pollutant is anticipated to drift parallel to the coastline by around 4 pm on June 10. By 4 pm on June 11, the pollutant is expected to continue its movement in a parallel direction along the coast,' INCOIS said.
The Hindu
10-06-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Massive fire aboard Singapore-flagged container ship off Kerala coast; rescue efforts stepped up
A major fire aboard a Singapore-flagged container ship carrying flammable and toxic materials continues to rage off the Kerala coast, as rescue teams battle both the flames and the risk of the vessel sinking on Tuesday (June 10, 2025). The fire broke out on MV Wan Hai 503 on Monday while the ship was en route from Colombo to Mumbai, 78 nautical miles off the Kerala Coast. Four crew members remain missing, and the search for them is ongoing, according to Defence PRO Atul Pillai. 'Seven ships and five Dornier aircraft are part of the rescue operation. INS Sujatha and Coast Guard vessel Samarth have joined the mission,' he said. He added that the situation remain critical, with floating containers posing additional hazards. Water being sprayed 'Yesterday, access to the burning ship was not possible. Today, the Coast Guard managed to approach and begin spraying water. However, the vessel is not floating in a stable position, which complicated the respone.' he said. Azhikkal port PRO Captain Arun Kumar confirmed that efforts to extinguish the fire had not yet succeeded. 'A specialised salvage team departed from Kochi this morning. Around 25 containers have fallen into the sea. Recovery operation are in progress,' he said, warning that some of the containers may drift toward the Ernakulam and Thrissur coast. The contents of the burning containers – some reportedly hazardous – have raised environmental concerns. Authorities continue to monitor the movement of the containers and assess the potential risks of pollution and coastal damage. Meanwhile, the Coastal police in Kannur have cautioned the fishermen to be careful.
Scroll.in
30-05-2025
- General
- Scroll.in
Shipwreck off Kerala coast likely to endanger marine ecology and life
The Liberian-flagged ship that sank off the Kerala coast has raised concerns about a potential oil spill and hazardous cargo, and the resulting ecological impact. The ship ELSA 3, enroute from Vizhinjam to Kochi, tilted into the sea on May 24, 38 nautical miles off the Kochi coast and sank completely the next morning. According to the Ministry of Defence, the ship had 640 containers, of which 46 were washed ashore in south Kerala on Tuesday, May 27. Also, tiny plastic pellets or nurdles, suspected to be from containers, were found on the coast of Thiruvananthapuram the same day. Nurdles scattered in the sea are hard to clean up and can endanger marine life. As per media reports, large quantities of nurdles, also suspected to be from the containers, washed ashore in the Kanniyakumari district of the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu on May 28 afternoon, a few days after the ship began sinking. Besides, of the containers remaining in the sea, 13 carry hazardous material, but authorities have not disclosed the nature of this material. Another 12 contain calcium carbide, which becomes inflammable when reacting with water. It can also make the water more alkaline, disrupting the marine ecosystem. Under India's National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan, the incident was classified as Tier II (spills requiring regional or national intervention). As per the contingency plan, the Indian Coast Guard has been trying to control the oil spill on site while state agencies are coordinating the response on the shore. Oil spill in patches The ship was loaded with 367 tonnes of furnace oil and 84 tonnes of low-sulphur high-speed diesel (HSD), according to a press release from the Ministry of Defence. 'Low-sulphur HSD is commonly used in ships. We don't know which of the two fuels leaked. Initially, the leak was in a 1 nm X 2 nm [nautical miles] area, and later it spread to 2 nm X 2 nm,' said Commander Atul Pillai, Defence Public Relations Officer, Kochi. He said the Coast Guard has largely contained the spill. 'Three Coast Guard ships have been churning the affected waters while two Dornier aircraft sprayed oil spill dispersants. Earlier, the spill was visible from the aircraft; now, there are only patches. Coast Guard has also now dispatched a pollution response strike team and a pollution response vessel from Mumbai to analyse and handle the contamination,' he said. When asked whether the oil spill could be fully dispersed, Pillai said, 'We can't say if more oil will leak out of the ship. As of now, the operation is going on.' Biju Kumar, marine biologist and head of the Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries at Kerala University, says long-term monitoring is needed even if the oil spill is dispersed. There is no immediate concern as no fish mortality has been reported. However, diesel and engine oil contain several hydrocarbons, some of which are persistent organic pollutants and are easily absorbed and remain in the food systems. The oil will ultimately settle down, get converted into paraffin balls, and spread over long distances. That is a threat to the benthic ecosystem (at the bottom of the sea).' More concerning, Kumar said, are the containers that are still missing. 'None of the recovered containers have calcium carbide, which means we need to have a thorough search for the declared materials. Second, many items, like plastic pellets, were not disclosed earlier. So, what is in the containers is a concern.' Until Monday, two days after the ship began sinking, most containers washed ashore were either empty or contained non-hazardous materials like tea. By the next day, plastic pellets washed up. The nurdles, 1 mm to 5 mm in diameter and considered primary microplastics, are used to manufacture plastic products. According to Kumar, this is the first instance of plastic pellet pollution from a shipwreck reported in India. He says the nurdles' size and buoyancy allow them to travel far, and their resemblance to fish eggs causes aquatic animals to ingest them, which could be fatal. Nurdles can also absorb pollutants over time, gradually break down into micro and nano plastics, and enter the food chain. Kumar says nurdles should be removed from the spill sites and beaches as soon as possible. The state government has enlisted volunteers, who would be guided by drone surveys, to remove pellets from the shore. Sreekala S, chairperson of the Kerala State Pollution Control Board, says, 'We plan to coordinate with the administrations to remove the containers and materials. The shipping company MSC [Mediterranean Shipping Company] has agreed to remove these, and discussions on this are ongoing.' MSC is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland but ELSA3 was registered in Liberia. The Mercantile Marine Department, Kochi, under the Directorate General of Shipping, has issued a pollution liability warning to the company, and MSC is reported to have hired an agency for cleanup. Kumar says the government should form a consortium of experts to conduct long-term monitoring studies. 'There is an international standard of practice for such monitoring. This includes frequently examining the water, sediment, and biota in the pelagic, mesopelagic (intermediate depths), and bottom layers. Filter feeders, especially mussels and shrimp, have a greater chance of accumulating chemicals. So, examining all these animals will give you a picture of the type and level of contaminants.' He adds that such studies are usually conducted for about three years and should be extended if contaminants are detected. Joint studies Until May 27, ICAR's Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute scientists collected water and sediment samples from 12 shores where containers were washed up. These were in Ernakulam, Alappuzha, and Kollam districts. 'The analysis will take time, but preliminary observations don't indicate oil slicks,' says Ratheesh Kumar R, team member and senior scientist. From May 28, the fisheries institute, the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, and the National Institute of Oceanography are conducting a 10-day vessel-based survey. 'We will collect water and sediment samples from different depths of the sea and measure water quality, alkalinity, oil content, biota, etc. We will also collect fish from 8-10 landing centres and look for any chemicals, oil, or hydrocarbons,' Ratheesh Kumar said. The survey locations would be selected based on dynamic maps by the ocean information services centre that project the oil drift based on wind and current directions. The fisheries institute will continue the study for at least six months, though the sampling frequency may be lower, Ratheesh Kumar said.
The Print
26-05-2025
- General
- The Print
Mapping of Kochi oil spill begins, Kerala coastline on alert as containers from capsized ship wash ashore
The MSC ELSA 3, en route to Kochi, capsized 24 May and completely sank by 25 May morning, 14.6 nautical miles from the Thottappally spillway in Alappuzha. Additionally, authorities have issued a statewide alert urging extreme caution among coastal communities, particularly concerning the districts of Alappuzha, Kollam, Ernakulam, and Thiruvananthapuram, where containers are most likely to wash ashore. Thiruvananthapuram: Central and state agencies have launched a coordinated effort after a Liberia-flagged container vessel carrying hazardous cargo on board sank off the Kochi coast on Sunday. It was carrying 640 containers, including 13 with hazardous materials and 12 containing calcium carbide—a chemical that can ignite on contact with water. Additionally, the vessel held 84.44 metric tonnes (MT) of diesel and 367.1 metric tonnes (MT) of furnace oil. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan convened a high-level emergency meeting on Monday to evaluate the situation. As per the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), the incident was classified as a Tier 2 disaster, and the Director General of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is overseeing efforts under the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOSDCP). As of Monday morning, nine containers had reached the coast—four near Shaktikulangara Harbour, three in Chavara, one in Cheriyazheekkal in Kollam district, and one in Thrikkunnapuzha in Alappuzha district, the CMO informed media after the meeting. Defence PRO Atul Pillai in Kochi told ThePrint that Coast Guard vessels Vikram, Saksham, and Samarth have been deployed to the site. These vessels, using infrared cameras, will detect oil spills and apply oil spill dispersants (OSDs) to contain the spread, he said. Besides this, a Dornier aircraft stationed in Kochi is conducting aerial surveillance, and the dedicated pollution control vessel Samudra Prahari is being mobilized from Mumbai to bolster cleanup efforts. 'The containers washing ashore are currently being handled by the NDRF and the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority,' Pillai told ThePrint. 'We are providing guidance from the Coast Guard, but due to the ongoing monsoon, it is difficult to predict how many more containers will reach the shore.' He added that rescuing the crew was the ICG's primary objective. 'Twenty-one crew members were rescued Saturday, while three remained on board until Sunday morning under the company's direction to mitigate the incident. When the vessel tilted further, they were forced to abandon ship, and the Navy carried out the rescue amidst highly dangerous conditions,' he said. In parallel, the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has begun mapping the spread of the oil spill. The Kochi-based Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has also collected water samples from Alappuzha. Dr. Prema, Principal Scientist at CMFRI, said the organisation would continue sampling along the coast starting Monday. 'Calcium carbide, if exposed to water, can have toxic effects. We are still determining if any has leaked, but caution is essential,' she noted. Also Read: Why Tamil Nadu's shores have become a death trap for Olive Ridley turtles Public advisory issued In view of the incident, the government has issued several precautionary directives to ensure public safety and environmental protection. Citizens were advised not to touch, approach, or gather near any containers or unusual objects that wash ashore. 'A safe distance of at least 200 meters must be maintained, and any such findings should be immediately reported by calling 112,' an advisory from the CMO reads. Furthermore, fishing is prohibited within 20 nautical miles of the sunken vessel. Fishermen must also avoid contact with any debris or containers and report sightings to the authorities. To handle containers reaching the shore, the Kerala government will deploy Rapid Response Teams equipped with JCBs and cranes under the direction of the factories and boilers Department. Two teams each will be active in the southern districts from Thrissur onwards, and one team each will cover the northern districts. For managing potential oil contamination onshore, the Pollution Control Board will deploy similar teams across the region, it said, adding that District Disaster Management Authorities, police, and other government departments will support these operations. A comprehensive plan involving the Coast Guard, Navy, forest department, and factories and boilers department is being prepared to address the risk of oil settling on the seabed, it added. (Edited by Tony Rai) Also Read: 'Save Ennore creek' — Chennai oil spill turns focus to a 'lifeline in ICU'
