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Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Sinking of MSC ELSA 3: Kerala HC orders conditional arrest of sister ship in claims plea
Kochi: The HC on Wednesday ordered the conditional arrest of the vessel MSC Polo II, a sister vessel of MSC ELSA 3, which had capsized and sunk off the Kerala coast on May 25. The order was passed in a petition filed by Sans Cashew India Private Ltd, seeking compensation for the loss of cargo valued at Rs 74 lakh. Justice M A Abdul Hakhim further clarified that the vessel may be released upon the production of a demand draft for the said amount before the HC registrar general. Earlier, HC had similarly detained another vessel, MSC MANASA F, in connection with petitions filed by various companies to recover compensation for consignment losses arising from the sinking of ELSA 3. In the present petition, the petitioner submitted that it had lost two consignments of Ghana dried raw cashew nuts (in shell) shipped from Tema port, Ghana, to Tuticorin port, India. T by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo he cargo was transhipped via Adani Vizhinjam Port and loaded onto ELSA 3, which later sank due to technical and operational failures, as confirmed by the mercantile marine department (MMD) and directorate general of shipping. The petitioner contended that they are entitled to recover the maritime claim under the Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Act, 2017, amounting to Rs 73.49 lakh. Meanwhile, the counsel for the vessel owner submitted that they had filed caveats before HC to prevent the arrest of vessels operated by the company within Indian territorial waters. It was also contended that the vessel is beyond 14 nautical miles from the Vizhinjam port and hence not available within the jurisdiction of this court. Nevertheless, HC ordered the conditional arrest of MSC Polo II until the production of the demand draft. Later in the afternoon, the shipping company produced the demand draft before the registrar. The petition has been adjourned to June 23.
Hindustan Times
12-06-2025
- Hindustan Times
FIR against Liberian flagged ship that sank off Kerala coast
Over two weeks when the Liberia-flagged cargo vessel MSC ELSA 3 sank off the coast of Kerala, the state police on Wednesday booked the owner of the ship, its master and the crew members for rash navigation and negligent conduct involving poisonous substances among other charges, officials said. The cargo vessel sank 14.5 nautical miles off the coast of Kochi on the morning of May 25 while sailing to Kochi from the Vizhinjam International Seaport. As the ship sank, over 640 containers that were aboard went down along with it. According to officials, at least 12 of those contained calcium carbide, a chemical that reacts dangerously with water as it releases acetylene gas, which is highly combustible. While efforts are currently on to extract the fuel oil and marine diesel from the sunken ship's tank, the containers filled with hazardous substances have not yet been cleared from the sea yet. A mechanical failure in the ship's ballast system was seen as one of the primary reasons that led to the vessel's sinking. On the basis of a complaint by C Shamji of Neerkunnam Matsya Gramam in Alappuzha, a first information report (FIR) was registered at the Fort Kochi Coastal Police station. It named the owner of the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the ship master and the crew as first, second and third accused respectively. HT has seen the report. It stated that the neglect by the accused led to the mishap involving the ELSA 3 vessel. It further stated that there was environmental damage in the region in the form of plastic and other hazardous materials that were being discharged in the sea. It also said the accident caused huge losses to the fisherfolk and obstruction to the movement of ships. The accused have been booked under sections 282, 285, 286, 287, 288 and and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita (2023). Following the police action, the Congress questioned why a case was filed after a delay of 17 days from when the ship sank and demanded an answer from the state government and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Congress general secretary and Alappuzha MP K C Venugopal claimed, in a Facebook post, that the state and central governments did nothing till now as the shipping company has business relations with the Adani Group. He claimed that it was due to the persistent demands by the Congress that the police action was taken. The FIR comes days after the state government faced intense criticism by the opposition and environmental activists over delay in initiating criminal charges against the shipping company and crew of the MSC ELSA 3 vessel. An official note prepared by the chief secretary A Jayathilak said that the government was intending to file compensation claims based on damages rather than immediately file a criminal case. The note said that MSC was a reputed firm which patronises the Vizhinjam port. With PTI inputs
Hindustan Times
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
No case to be filed against MSC immediately: Kerala over sinking of ship on May 25
The Kerala government does not intend to file a criminal case immediately against Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the operator of the ELSA 3 cargo vessel which sank off the coast of the state on May 25, citing the firm's 'patronisation' of the Vizhinjam International Seaport and the need to collect evidence for damages to file compensation claims, a note prepared by Chief Secretary A Jayathilak on May 29 said. The delay in filing the case has been criticised by the opposition, which rejected the government's arguments. The note, seen by HT, was prepared the same day Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan met top officials of the Directorate General of Shipping and four days after the Liberia-flagged cargo vessel loaded with over 640 containers capsized in the Arabian Sea around 14.5 nautical miles from the coast of the state. While the state government has ordered the formation of at least three different committees to deal with various aspects, including assessing environmental damage such as oil spill and filing appropriate compensation claims, environmentalists and experts have flagged the need to initiate criminal proceedings against the shipping company as part of preliminary action. In the backdrop of the ship's sinking, over 50 containers, mostly empty, drifted to the state's coast and large amounts of plastic pellets, also known as nurdles, from the cargo washed up on the state's coast. The note by the chief secretary stated, 'The general consensus was that a criminal case need not be filed immediately and that the entire focus at this time should be on collecting evidence of damages so that evidence based claims can be raised.' It also added that MSC is a 'reputed company which patronises the Vizhinjam International Seaport and the company requires the goodwill of Kerala for their operations here.' The note said it was also in the company's interest to cooperate with the state and settle the claims through the insurance agency. 'Considering all these aspects, our claim should be raised based on strong evidence and without any compromise,' it said. The Vizhinjam International Seaport, dedicated to the nation in May by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is a public-private-partnership project in which the first phase has been completed at a cost of ₹8867 crore. The State government has shelled out ₹5595.34 crore for the project with Adani Group spending ₹2454 crore. The Union government has granted viability gap funding in the form of ₹817 crore and ₹795 crore as an interest-free loan to be repaid over 50 years. So far, no criminal case has been filed against MSC or other officials associated with the sunken vessel. While the chief secretary was unavailable for comment on Monday, Kerala minister for ports VN Vasavan claimed the responsibility over registering criminal cases and initiating rescue operations with regard to such accidents in the deep sea rested with the union ministry of shipping. 'The state government does not have the jurisdiction to register a case or exercise control when it comes to accidents in the deep sea. It is the union ministry of shipping which registers cases in that regard. The incident of MSC ELSA 3 took place around 48 nautical miles away from Kochi. All matters regarding registration of case and rescue operations come under the union ministry of shipping. When there are incidents close to the coast of environmental damage or problems for fisherfolk, the state can intervene and file compensation claims for damages,' Vasavan told reporters. Senior Congress leader KC Venugopal criticised the State for failing to take action against the shipping firm. 'In 2010, a similar accident took place off the coast of Maharashtra. The next day, the state government there registered a case and imposed a steep fine on the firm and shared the compensation proceeds with those who were affected. Here in Kerala, over two weeks have passed and the State has still not registered a case. The fisherfolk have not been able to go to sea for many days, and there are severe environmental damages,' said Venugopal. 'The State's claims are untrue. As per a gazette published in 2016, the State government can register cases for accidents that take place within 200 nautical miles. Here, the chief secretary has recorded that the shipping firm is extremely important for Vizhinjam port and therefore no case need to be registered. When thousands of fisherfolk have been affected due to this incident, how casually and criminally is the State behaving?' he asked. Environmental observer Sridhar Radhakrishnan opined that the State has 'given up' on its people, its ecosystem, and its fishing communities through such a stand. 'It's clear that the State at this point, despite being led by a Left, progressive government, is not prioritising the public good. Obviously, liabilities have to be fixed and compensation paid feels like even if the accident hurts our beaches, our environment, our tourism, our fishermen community and the tonnes of fish that we as the state's people will consume, it must somehow not affect the Adani port. It looks like the CM and his team are bent on it. For 10 years, this government sat without making proper pollution control protocols (when such an incident happens). We still don't have a protocol,' he told HT. He claimed the State government failed to carry out a proper clean-up when tonnes of plastic nurdles washed up on the coast. 'On the first day itself, the clean-ups failed to take off. The volunteers demanded to be paid. When they were pulled into the task, they should have been paid so that it can be documented and proper compensation claim be filed before the shipping firm,' he said.
Hindustan Times
04-06-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Troubling gaps in India's coastal governance
More than a week after a container ship with sensitive cargo sank off the Kerala coast, there are few indications of how the incident occurred, or of the full extent of environmental damage. While port authorities maintain there has been no significant oil spill, the discovery of floating nurdles along coastlines in Kerala and Tamil Nadu has raised red flags. The underlying regulatory questions, perhaps more pressing, remain unanswered. The capsizing of the Liberia-flagged MSC ELSA 3, about 40 nautical miles off Kochi, has exposed troubling gaps in India's coastal governance. The vessel was carrying 643 containers, including a declared consignment of hazardous materials such as calcium carbide, a volatile chemical known to react explosively with seawater. It was also reportedly laden with furnace oil and diesel for propulsion. That such a ship, operating under opaque ownership and sailing under a flag of convenience, was allowed to transit between two Indian ports without closer scrutiny reveals a deeper malaise — a regulatory culture overly reliant on paperwork and cursory checks, rather than robust, ground-level enforcement. Yet effective crisis management is no substitute for strong preventive oversight. The ELSA 3's passage from Vizhinjam to Kochi, a short domestic leg possibly linked to cargo bound for a longer voyage, should have raised multiple red flags. The vessel was registered in Liberia, a country known for its open registry and lax regulatory controls. As one of the most prominent 'flags of convenience' (FoC) states, Liberia is frequently used by shipowners seeking to avoid stricter labour, safety, and environmental standards. Tellingly, Liberia has reportedly declined to cooperate with any formal investigation, forcing Indian authorities to confront the legal and regulatory fallout alone. The vessel's crew composition and operational history only deepen concerns. Over the past two decades, the MSC ELSA 3 had reportedly changed names and flags multiple times, a practice known as flag hopping, often used to evade regulatory scrutiny. Its multinational crew, comprising Russians, Ukrainians, Georgians, and Filipinos, is not unusual in global shipping, but such combinations often signal low-cost, third-party management with diffuse lines of accountability. These are not trivial procedural lapses. When hazardous cargo is transported through domestic waters, transparency of ownership, clarity about crew competence, and rigour in cargo verification must be non-negotiable. Yet there is no evidence that authorities conducted meaningful checks before the ELSA 3 sailed from Vizhinjam. Equally troubling is the failure to translate technical risk into public safety measures. Fisherfolk and environmental groups along the Kerala coast have expressed frustration over the absence of timely advisories and delayed official communication. Even as coastal communities reported floating debris, tar balls, and chemical odours, government response remained muted. India's legal frameworks for hazardous cargo management are reasonably comprehensive on paper. The Merchant Shipping (Carriage of Cargo) Rules, 1995, issued under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958, require detailed cargo manifests, safety protocols, and hazard disclosures. For hazardous materials, India follows the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code, enforced through the directives of the directorate general of shipping. The country is also a signatory to the MARPOL Convention, which sets international standards for oil-spill prevention and marine pollution control. Yet the gap between regulation and enforcement remains glaring. Inspections are often perfunctory, reduced to formalities on paper with little physical verification. This incident is not a one-off. The 2017 oil spill near Chennai and a chemical leak off Mumbai in 2010 both exposed severe shortcomings in enforcement and emergency preparedness. The 2011 sinking of the MV Rak, a poorly maintained Panama-flagged vessel off the Mumbai coast, revealed similar flaws. The ship had continued operating in Indian waters despite repeated warnings about its condition. Subsequent investigations pointed to inadequate port inspections and poor inter-agency coordination, failings that mirror many aspects of the MSC ELSA 3 episode. A recurring theme in these incidents is the weakness of port state control — the mechanism by which countries inspect foreign-flagged vessels in their waters to ensure compliance with international standards. Indian authorities have long hesitated to strengthen this function, allowing substandard ships to operate with impunity. The MSC ELSA 3, flagged for deficiencies during previous inspections — including one at Tuticorin last year—should have attracted far greater scrutiny. India's cargo carriage norms also deserve closer examination. While coastal trade is nominally reserved for Indian-flagged vessels, a 2018 exemption permits foreign ships to carry certain categories of EXIM and agricultural cargo without a DG Shipping licence. The ELSA 3's voyage likely qualified under these rules, but its hazardous cargo should have triggered a more rigorous inspection regime. At the very least, consignments involving reactive chemicals like calcium carbide must be publicly disclosed and centrally tracked. Fixing this ecosystem will require more than bureaucratic tightening. India must fundamentally reconsider its engagement with vessels flagged to jurisdictions known for lax compliance. This means expanding satellite tracking and Automatic Identification System (AIS) coverage, joining international efforts to monitor shadow fleets, and advocating for reform within the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). As coastal states like Kerala contend with the fallout from the ELSA 3 incident, India cannot credibly claim maritime leadership in the Indo-Pacific while tolerating regulatory blind spots in its own backyard. Maritime power is not only about naval presence or port expansion, it is also about governance, oversight, and accountability at sea. ELSA 3's capsizing may not have caused an immediate ecological catastrophe. But it has spotlighted India's chronic regulatory complacency. The next incident may not be so forgiving. Abhijit Singh is the former head of the maritime policy initiative at ORF, New Delhi. The views expressed are personal
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.
