Liberian container ship carrying hazardous cargo sinks off Kerala; authorities urge public caution

MSC ELSA 3 capsizes near Kochi with over 600 units of cargo off Kerala coast

A container ship sailing under the Liberian flag, MSC ELSA 3, has fully capsized around 38 nautical miles off Kochi, raising serious concerns about a potential oil spill and environmental contamination. The vessel began listing on Saturday and submerged entirely by early Sunday due to flooding in one of its cargo holds.

Crew members safe, and rescue operations successful

According to the Indian Coast Guard, all 24 crew members were safely evacuated. Of those, 21 were rescued by Coast Guard teams, and three were picked up by the Indian Navy vessel Sujata. Officials confirmed that the vessel carried 640 containers, including 13 labeled hazardous and 12 containing calcium carbide.

Oil spill preparedness activated

The ship also held significant amounts of fuel, with 84.44 metric tonnes of diesel and 367.1 metric tonnes of furnace oil stored onboard. The possibility of an oil spill prompted the Coast Guard to implement comprehensive pollution response measures in collaboration with the Kerala state authorities.

Kerala public alerted about drifting cargo

The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority has issued an alert asking the public to avoid any objects that may drift toward the coastline. The Navy warned that containers could move at a speed of roughly 1 km/h, with Ernakulam and Alappuzha being the most likely landing points.

Search and environmental monitoring in progress

The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) is working closely with other agencies, offering real-time ocean forecasts and assistance for environmental response strategies. INCOIS also launched its Search and Rescue Aid Tool (SARAT) and conducted oil spill trajectory simulations to guide mitigation efforts.

Specialized equipment deployed

The Coast Guard ship Saksham is actively involved in oil containment operations, while a Dornier aircraft, configured for pollution response using co-polarisation ratio (PR) assessment, is conducting aerial monitoring.

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