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The Hindu
a day ago
- General
- The Hindu
Stronger Port State Control regime to ensure safety of ships called for
The back-to-back ship accidents off the coast of Kerala, including the sinking of MSC Elsa 3 and the explosion on the Singapore-flagged vessel Wan Hai-503, raise questions on the lax regulatory inspections being carried out by different agencies on ships. The incidents also highlight the need for a stronger Port State Control (PSC) regime along with real-time accesses to the details of dangerous cargo. The PSC regime envisions identifying substandard ships at any port in India and ensuring seaworthiness before the vessels are allowed to sail out of the port. The ships registered in various countries, especially under a flag of convenience (FoC) — a system in which ships are registered in countries where more lenient regulatory regimes exist — have to be subjected to routine inspections at various ports to ensure the safety, maintenance, manning, etc. According to reports, the 2000-registered MSC Elsa, the ship that sank off the coast of Kerala on May 25 spilling hazardous substances posing serious threat to the marine ecosystem and livelihood of thousands of fishermen, had been flagged for many deficiencies in the past, including at Tuticorin port in 2023, although the ship had a seaworthy certification. Speaking to The Hindu, a senior officer at the office of the Directorate General of Shipping said it was the Mercantile Marine department which had to conduct periodic inspections both on vessels registered in India and those registered in foreign nations during the port of call. 'We don't think there was any regulatory laxity or slackness in ensuring the safety of vessels calling at Indian ports. Moreover, a ship tilting to one side during its voyage doesn't mean that it was substandard or lacks fitness. There would be plenty of reasons which have to be ascertained through a detailed investigation,' he said. Maritime law expert V.J. Mathew said it had been around a month since the ship sank off the coast of Kerala. 'There is a clear remissness in conducting a primary investigation and submitting a report in connection with the accident,' he said. 'Even at this moment, I don't think the full detailed manifest of the containers carrying hazardous materials onboard MSC Elsa has been released,' said Mr. Mathew. N.S. Pillai, Chairman, Kerala Maritime Board, said the State had no role in enforcing the rules or carrying out surveys and inspections on vessels although deficiencies had been flagged in the past. 'Our role is mainly to provide necessary infrastructure for the berthing of vessels that call at ports under the board,' he said. The experts are of the view that the Centre should effectively implement the PSC regime and fix accountability for such accident without delay.
The Hindu
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Kerala HC defers negotiation initiated by State with MSC on compensation for damage due to sinking of container ship
The Kerala High Court on Thursday deferred the negotiation process initiated by the State government with the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) on the compensation for the damage caused by the sinking of the firm's container ship MSC Elsa 3 off the Kerala coast on May 25. The interim order was passed on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by T.N. Prathapan, former MP and the chairperson of Kerala Fishermen Coordination Committee, and others seeking a directive to the Union and State governments, among others, to release interim financial assistance to fishers and others affected by the ship's sinking and subsequent environmental concerns. High-level panel The other demands included constitution of a high-level expert committee to assess the damage caused to the marine environment and the coast, directive to the Indian Coast Guard, State government and the Kerala State Pollution Control Board to clear all waste, debris and chemicals from the ship and to clean up the marine environment. While taking note of the affidavit filed by the State government informing that a committee had been formed to determine the compensation for the damage caused by the sinking, restoration of the coastal and marine environment, removal of wreckage and the economic losses caused to the fishers, the court questioned whether the out-of-court negotiations, particularly when a legal course of action under the Admiralty Act is still open, would result in a binding agreement. It further questioned whether it could have transparency, the extent of the damage assessed, and also whether the court's jurisdiction would be affected. Once the State has proposed to move the court, it would be appropriate that the avenue of negotiation is deferred. On its part, the State government said the Special Secretary (Department of Environment) was appointed as the Principal Impact Assessment Officer and that it has been decided to take steps under the Environment Protection Act. Meeting convened In addition, the Minister for Fisheries convened a meeting with all stakeholders, and the Fisheries department has forwarded the loss assessment report to the Special Secretary. Moreover, the Director General of Shipping has directed the State to submit an interim claim. The State also said that it has decided to file an admiralty suit against the company, including the arrest of a sister vessel of MSC.
The Hindu
a day ago
- General
- The Hindu
Nurdle spill from MSC Elsa 3 sparks environmental concerns along coast
From the edge of the waterline on Kovalam's scenic Grove Beach, an irregular line of volunteers extend up the sand to a shallow pit. Muddy seawater fills the makeshift tank, about eight feet across and lined with blue tarpaulin. Water collected in small buckets from the inrush of waves is passed up the line and poured into the pit. Elsewhere on the beach, spread out under the ominous monsoon skies, more men and women use common household implements such as long-handled floor wipes and brushes to painstakingly sift through the sand. 'Since the pellets float, this is the easiest way to separate them from water and sand,' a volunteer explains pointing to the water-filled pit. 'But it is going to be a long process as many more keep coming with the tide,' he concedes. Over the past several days, this strange sight has become routine for beaches across Thiruvananthapuram district as community volunteers attempt to scoop up maddeningly tiny plastic pellets from the sand. Zillions of pellets, also called nurdles, have washed ashore on the southern coast following the sinking of the Liberia-flagged container ship MSC Elsa 3 off Kochi on May 25. Within days of the accident, pellets, each barely 2 mm to 3 mm in size, have invaded every nook and cranny on the coast. It appears like splashes of white paint on the sand from a distance. Over the past five days, the volunteers on the Grove Beach alone have collected and packed two container loads of nurdles, spending close to seven hours a day on the backbreaking work. The Aapda Mitra community volunteers have been hired by the Gujarat-based Marine Emergency Response Centre (MERC), tasked with onshore salvage of cargo by the ship's owners Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), under conditions set by the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA). On the nearby Hawa Beach (Eve's Beach), a big tourist draw at Kovalam, a similar clean-up drive attracts curious stares from visitors. 'I didn't know what they were,' comments Nutan Kumari, a homemaker from Bihar, on the pellets as she keeps a watchful eye over her son who is engrossed in scooping up sand with a toy cup-and-spade set. Footfall on the beach is relatively low at this time of the year as it is the off-season for tourists. Armed with buckets and brushes, volunteers have spread out across the beach, weeding out pellets from the loose sand. It is hard work, and the rainy season does not make it any easier. Here, too, a water-filled pit is used to separate pellets from the sand. Nonetheless, it is also easy to see how the nurdles, pale white and so minuscule that individually they are near-invisible, get dispersed away from the coast. Though not inherently toxic, its tiny size, buoyancy and resemblance to fish eggs make the nurdles an invisible and dangerous pollutant once they enter the ocean. Unsuspecting visitors could easily carry them underfoot along with the mud and sand on their shoes, for instance. There have also been complaints of unbroken bags of pellets being found in the lower reaches of the Neyyar river, perhaps reaching there through the estuary with the tides. The nurdle spill from the ship has been only one, albeit a critical one, of Kerala's environmental worries since the sinking of MSC Elsa 3. On her way to Kochi, the vessel, laden with 643 containers, started listing dangerously some 14.6 nautical miles from the coast, dislodging scores of containers, including several containing suspected hazardous cargo, into the sea. As of June 15, 61 containers have been recovered from the Kerala coast, according to a June 15 sitrep on the accident by the Directorate General of Shipping. The shipping disaster has worsened the troubles of the district's fisher community during the southwest monsoon season. For decades now, the fisher community here has been battling coastal erosion and the loss of work on account of inclement weather, says Valerian Isaac, a 58-year-old fisherman from Anchuthengu. 'Now, the fear that dangerous cargo from the ship may have mixed up with the seawater has hit fish sales as well. Atop this, debris from the ship, including the pellets, have washed ashore in multiple locations along the coast. The tides keep carrying them in and out,' Isaac says. Shortly after the nurdle spill, the Marine Monitoring Lab under the Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, University of Kerala, described it as the 'first major incident of plastic nurdle landings in India caused by a shipwreck.' The tiny granules, or pre-production plastics made from materials such as polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride, are the base material for other plastic products. In pellet form, they are easy to transport, and every year, millions of tonnes get shipped across the globe. Ingested, these pellets pose a danger to marine organisms, including fish, as they can cause intestinal blockages. Over time, they can break up into even tinier fragments, entering food chains and human diets, says A. Biju Kumar, Vice-Chancellor of the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS). And the nurdles keep on coming, adding to concerns about plastic pollution and effective strategies for tackling it. The menace has hit the shorelines all the way from the Kerala coasts to Kanyakumari and Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu. Its continuous replenishment along shorelines presents an ongoing environmental concern, according to an assessment of the Director General of Shipping. While clean-up operations are proceeding, fresh deposits necessitate sustained manpower to prevent secondary pollution. Approximately 65 tonnes of nurdles have been collected from across affected shorelines, it says. Sekhar L. Kuriakose, Member Secretary, KSDMA, feels that the task of clearing the nurdles is going to be a time-consuming process, given the magnitude of the dispersal. 'The removal of nurdles is going to be a long-term exercise, which may take at least a year-and-a-half to complete. If the experience of the Sri Lankan nurdle spill following the MV X-Press Pearl cargo ship accident in 2021 is anything to go by, it could even take up to five years,' says Kuriakose. The back-to-back ship accidents and the impacts of the harsh monsoon season have hit the State hard. The MSC Elsa 3 accident was followed by the fire that destroyed the Singapore-flagged Wan Hai 503 following an onboard explosion. The fire accident was reported further north off the Beypore coast. The accidents occurred at a most inopportune moment for the State, which is looking to expand its maritime horizons with the recently commissioned International Seaport at Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram. Harmless as they may seem at first glance, the plastic pellets, in reality, pose long-term and multidimensional impacts, experts point out. The pellets function as toxic sponges adsorbing hazardous substances such as heavy metals, antibiotics, persistent organic pollutants, microbial contaminants, and other emerging pollutants from the surrounding environment, says S. Bijoy Nandan, Dean, Faculty of Marine Sciences, at the Cochin University of Science and Technology. 'Once ingested by marine organisms, these contaminated nurdles act as vectors, introducing toxins into the food web. Over time, these pollutants can bioaccumulate and biomagnify in higher trophic levels, including humans, potentially disrupting vital physiological and biochemical functions,' explains Dr. Nandan. Furthermore, in both the water column and seabed, nurdles can bind with organic matter and can become a pseudo-food source for zooplankton, fishes, crustaceans and molluscs, facilitating their entry into the marine food web and enabling widespread trophic transfer across ecosystems, he says. Anu Gopinath, Professor and Head, Department of Aquatic Environment Management, KUFOS, shares similar concerns. 'Right now, everyone is worried about the microplastic pollution and the impact on fish resources. True, it is a major concern, especially for pelagic fishes as the pellets still in the ocean could have accumulated at different depth zones. But we also have to take into consideration long-term effects such as airborne contamination once these lightweight pellets break up into even tinier, nano granules. At nano sizes their detection turns problematic,' says Dr. Gopinath. Moreover, a real picture of the nurdle spill will emerge only when the rain subsides and the weather settles, according to her. Dr. Gopinath also underscores the need for observation along the entire Kerala coast, as seasonal shifts in ocean currents could carry the pellets far and wide. Friends of Marine Life (FML), a Thiruvananthapuram-based NGO working on marine biodiversity research, recently showcased the challenges confronting Kerala on account of the twin shipping disasters at the United Nations Ocean Conference in France. Robert Panipilla and fellow researcher Kumar Sahayaraju urged the United Nations to establish and enforce international regulations governing the maritime transport of chemical and plastic pollutants. 'Environmental disasters can be prevented to a considerable level through strong, enforceable laws and corporate accountability. The recent disasters underscore the need for Kerala to have a standard operating procedure concerning maritime emergencies,' feels Panipilla. Local self-government institutions and coastal communities need to be taken into confidence for addressing related issues and challenges, he feels. 'Moreover, public attention has largely concentrated on objects that have remained afloat on the sea. Wastes from the wreck would also have settled on underwater marine habitats,' he cautions. The Kerala Swatantra Matsya Thozhilali Federation has expressed concern over the pace at which the clean-up of the pellets and the removal of containers is taking place. 'The impacts of the accident hit the fishing community first. People are reluctant to buy fish, fearing that they may be contaminated. Steps should be taken to alleviate the fear and speedy recovery of all the containers,' says Jackson Pollayil, State president the federation. The fishers of the State, who were bearing the brunt of the monsoon fury, have now one more reason to be worried about. The nurdles. The tiny granules have hit their lives in a big way, even harder than the violent waves.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Loss of cargo due to sinking of container ship MSC Elsa 3: Kerala HC orders conditional arrest MSC Polo 2 anchored in Vizhinjam port
The Kerala High Court on Wednesday ordered the conditional arrest of a Liberian-flag ship named MSC Polo 2 anchored in the Vizhinjam international seaport in connection with the sinking of container ship MSC Elsa 3 off the Kerala coast on May 25 on an admiralty suit filed by a cashew importer firm whose consignment was on board the sunken ship. The arrest order came on a petition seeking compensation of ₹73.49 lakh from Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) for the loss of the consignment, filed by Praveena V.P., managing director of Kollam-based Sans Cashew India Private Limited. Her allegation was that the vessel sank due to its mechanical, technical defects/failure, owing to lack of proper care, and (also) the 'unseaworthiness' of the vessel, or due to the improper stowage of containers in the vessel due to incompetence of the crew. Beyond jurisdiction The counsel for the shipping firm contended that the vessel is beyond 14 nautical miles from the port and hence was beyond the court's jurisdiction. The court said that it is satisfied that the petitioner has made out an arguable maritime claim, warranting a conditional order of arrest of the vessel. No harm will be caused to the shipping firm if a conditional arrest is ordered, till furnishing of security by the shipping firm. In its order, the court said that the vessel is ordered to be arrested (by Adani Vizhinjam Port Pvt Ltd – the second respondent in the case) until the first respondent MSC deposited the ₹73.49 lakh in the court, or until security for the amount is furnished. The warrant of arrest of the vessel would be withdrawn and the conditional order of arrest automatically vacated once the amount is deposited or security is furnished by the firm. The matter has been posted for hearing on June 23.
Scroll.in
2 days ago
- Scroll.in
Kerala HC orders arrest of another sister ship of sunken vessel to recover losses
The Kerala High Court on Wednesday ordered the conditional arrest of Liberian-flagged ship MV MSC Polo II for securing claims related to cargo losses incurred after its sister vessel, MSC Elsa 3, sank off the Kochi coast on May 25, Live Law reported. Justice MA Abdul Hakhim passed the order in a suit filed by Sans Cashew India Private Limited, which claimed its consignment worth Rs 74 lakh was lost due to the sinking. MSC ELSA 3 was on its way from Vizhinjam to Kochi and carrying 640 containers, including 13 hazardous cargo and 12 calcium carbide containers, when it sank 'reportedly due to flooding in one of the holds', the Indian Coast Guard had said. On June 13, the High Court had issued a similar order to detain another vessel that is also operated by the Mediterranean Shipping Company following petitions from five other cargo owners who also lost shipments in the incident, The News Minute reported. The order secured nearly Rs 6 crore as a conditional deposit for the release of the ship, Bar and Bench reported. On Wednesday, Hakhim said that the conditional arrest of MSC Polo II would be lifted if the vessel's owners deposit Rs 74 lakh or furnish adequate security in court. The court also clarified that the arrest can only be made when the ship is anchored within the territorial jurisdiction of Kerala. The ship is currently en route to Vizhinjam Port, according to Bar and Bench. The court ordered the arrest on the basis that the shipping company has no assets in India. The matter will be heard next on June 23. On May 29, the Kerala government declared the wreckage of MSC ELSA 3 a state-specific disaster.
