With over 100 containers reportedly falling into the sea after Liberian container ship MSC ELSA 3 sunk off the Ernakulam-Alappuzha coast in Kerala, efforts are on to tackle a potential oil spill.
ALSO READ: Liberian ship MSC ELSA 3 sinks off Kochi; Coast Guard on high alert amid pollution concerns
Many of these containers are drifting towards the coast at a speed of 3 km per hour. Hence, the authorities have asked fishermen to avoid venturing around 20 nautical mile radius of the site.
The 184-metre-long ship, MSC ELSA 3, was sailing from Vizhinjam to Cochin Port when it tilted 26 degrees to the starboard side, around 38 nautical miles from southwest off Kochi coast.
@IndiaCoastGuard #MRCC, #Mumbai responded to a distress alert from the Liberia-flagged container ship MSC ELSA 3, which developed a 26° list approximately 38 nautical miles southwest of #Kochi.
— PRO Defence Kochi (@DefencePROkochi) May 24, 2025
The vessel had departed #Vizhinjam Port on 23 May 25 and was en route to #Kochi, with… pic.twitter.com/m4OhGxAkk6
The last known site of the Liberian container vessel was 14.6 nautical miles from Thottapally Spillway in Alappuzha district. Authorities estimate that the containers floating in the sea could drift towards the shores of Ernakulam, Alappuzha, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram districts.
The Kerala government has deployed two Rapid Respons Teams (RRTs) under the Factories and Boilers Department in coordination with the Pollution Control Board.
The Indian Coast Guard has deployed a Dornier aircraft to spray chemical dispersant in the affected are to contain potential leakage of hazardous cargo. Two ships, including ICGS Saksham equipped with pollution response configuration and the Coast Guard's largest ship ICGS Samarth, were also deployed to contain oil spill.
Earlier, all the 24 crew members aboard the vessel were rescued. Twelve of the crew were rescued by MV Han Yi while nine others were shifted to ICGS Arnvesh on Saturday. The three remaining, including the captain and two engineers were rescued by INS Sujata on Sunday morning before the ship sank.
"In the early hours of 25 May, MSC ELSA 3 listed rapidly and capsized at position 09°18.76'N 076°08.12'E and sank," read a Coast Guard statement.
