Marine emergency response ship from Puducherry set to reach Kochi shipwreck site soon

Liberian-flagged container ship, MSC Elsa 3, sank 38 km southwest off the Kochi coast on May 24.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Kerala Revenue Minister K. Rajan has said a marine emergency response ship from Puducherry has set course for the capsized Liberian-flagged container ship, MSC Elsa 3, which sank 38 km southwest off the Kochi coast on May 24.

Mr. Rajan told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday (May 29, 2025) that the shipwreck experts on the search and recovery vessel would soon reach the location and use the latest equipment to scan the submerged vessel.

Subsequently, they would devise a plan to drain the very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) stored in the ship’s double hull to prevent further spillage.

The experts would also attempt to salvage the containers using powered hoists, including at least 13 hazardous chemical canisters stowed away in the vessel’s cargo hold.

(The Customs had reported to the government that the ship’s cargo manifest stated that the ship transported calcium carbide, a chemical which causes an exothermic reaction, producing highly flammable calcium hydroxide and acetylene gas when it reacts with water). 

Floating booms

Mr. Rajan said the marine disaster management team had cordoned off the seas near the shipwreck site with floating booms to prevent oil slicks from spreading.

The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information (INCOIS) has mapped areas where weathered pieces of oil from a ship, known as “tar balls or petroleum blobs”, could wash up along Kerala’s coastline.

The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) would place sandbags in the coastal localities to protect the shore. The government would also deploy floating booms to protect vulnerable estuaries and bays from VLSFO  pollution. 

Mr. Rajan stated that it was unlikely more containers would run aground. Thus far, 54 containers have washed ashore on the beaches of Kollam (43), Thiruvananthapuram (9), and Alappuzha (2). Nevertheless, flotsam from damaged containers battered by the high seas off Kerala’s coast could wash up on the southern beaches of Kerala. 

Mr. Rajan said minute plastic and polythene granules from the containers posed a clear and present marine environmental threat. The government has enlisted hundreds of volunteers and provided them with trash bags and sifters to remove the plastic debris, which the Minister termed an uphill task and a long-term environmental threat.