Joseph Maliakan
A Liberian flagged cargo ship belonging to the Mediterranean Shipping Company MSC ELSA 3 enroute to Kochi from the Vizhinjam port sank on 25 May approximately 14.60 nautical miles off the Allapuzha coast in Kerala.
The vessel was carrying 643 containers , 244 with highly hazardous and noxious substances, 58 with foreign waste and over 450 metric tonnes of marine fuel. Despite the presence of the toxic crgo neither the Kerela Government nor the Government of India take any immediate or adequate steps for wreck removal or extraction of oil.
Among the cargo also were 12 containers of calcium carbide and 12 containerss of organic chemicals raising alarm over severe contamination of the entire Kerala coast. So far 50 containers have washed ashore along the coasts of Alapuzha, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram. Debris from the sunken vessel continues to reach the shore endagering environmental and public safety.
Yet for two weeks after the sinking of the ship with hazardous cargo no case was filed against the owners of the ship. Following criticism by environmentalists and social and political activists an FIR was finally registered against the vessel’s owner and crew members.
The reluctance of the State and Union governments to register a criminal case against owner of the ship stemmed from the fact that the company which owns the ship , the Mediterranean Shipping Company ( MSC ) , is a partner concern of Adani Ports , which operates multiple ports in the country , including the Vizhinjam International Seaport.
In fact in a meeting on 29 May 2025 Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the Union Director General of Shipping decided not to file a criminal complaint against the MSC because the company is a patron of the Vizhinjum International Seaport ! A patron can do no wrong is the principle.
The 11 June FIR has been registered under sections 282 ( rash navigation of vessel ) , 285 ( danger in the line of navigation ) , 286 ( negligent conduct of poisonous substances ) , 287 ( negligent conduct of combustible substances ) , 288 ( negligent conduct involving explosives ) and 3 (5) ( common intention ) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita ( MNS).
While the 24 crew members were rescued by the Indian Coast Guard , the sinking of the ship has raised concerns about potential environmental damage from oil spills and and dangerous chemicals and plastic pellets. Considering the dangerous environmental fall outs the Kerala Government on May 29 declared the sinking of the cargo ship a state specific disaster. The government also warned public and fisherfolk to stay away from the debris and report any sightings to the authorities.
The MSC, headquartered in Geneva is a major global shipping company founded in Brussels in 1970. With operations spanning 155 countries MSC owns more than 900 vessels and seven aircrafts.
In 2023, MSC’s investing wing Terminal Investment Limited , acquired a 49 percent stake in Adani Encore Container Terminal Pvt.Ltd . It is also in partnership with Adani’s CT3 Container Terminal at the Mudra Port.
The State government intially refused to file any criminal case arguing the that the MSC did not indulge in any criminal act. Here one wonders how could one conclude that there is no foul play in the sinking of the cargo ship specially when it was carrying hazardous chemicals and even waste. The State government intially also argued that the Union government is responsible for taking action against the ship owners under the Merchant Shipping Act.
Another argument made by the State government was that the State police has jurisdiction up to only 12 nautical miles from the coastline and the the shipwreck occured more that 14 nautical miles away from the coastline.
In this context the State government conveniently or deliberately forgot a Gazette Notification issued by Union Ministry of Home Affairs in 2016 empowering several coastal police stations in India , including the Fort Kochi Coastal police station , to investigate offences under the Maritime Zones Act in areas under Exclusive Economic Zones located within 200 nautical miles.
Following the sinking of the cargo ship the Kerala Government banned fishing within 20 nautical mile radius of the shipwreck . And the fishermen families of the coastal districts of Thiruvanathapuram, Kollam , Alapuzha and Ernakulum were given Rs.1000 and six kilograms of rice each. Congress leader T. N .Pratapan wondered how could the fisherfolk survive on this meagre amount of relief.
The coastal fishing community apart from facing uncertainty about their livelihood is now faced with the prospect of dealing with pollutants left behind by the shipwreck. Hitherto , there has been no report of any oil spill. However , we have to remember that the sunken ship is loaded with 84.44 metric tonnes of diesel and 367.1 metric tonnes of furnace oil.
Following the sinking of the ship V.J Mathew , former Chairman of the Kerala State Maritime Board wondered why the State government delayed releasing the cargo manifest , when the Vishinjam Port as per norms had it , since the ship was sailing from Vizhinjam to Kochi when it sank.
The Government of Kerala was forced to release the cargo manifest after Congress leader T.N. Pratapan filed a Public Interest Litigation ( PIL ) in the Kerala High Court. After the first hearing on 5 June Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Basant Balaji directed the State government to place all information regarding the cargo and the ecological impact of the cargo in the public domain.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) suo motu on 27 May asked MSC to specify the hazardous contents in the cargo containers. The NGT notified that the incident violated the provisions of the Biodiversity Act.2002; Water ( Prevention and Control of Pollution ) Act.1974 and the Environment Protection Act.1986.
Several questions remain. One, what is the state and Union governments trying to hide. MSC Esla had only one more year before it was to be decommissioned. Therefore it is natural to ask the question whether it was deliberately sunk to claim insurance.The list of items published also lacks authenticity. Some containers it was said contained cash ! Later it was changed to cashew ! Even God may not be able to Save ‘ God’s Own Country ‘!
