A year after the container ship MSC Elsa 3 (IMO: 9123221) sank off the coast of Kerala, seven of its foreign crew members have urged the High Court to permit them to return to their home countries.
These seven crew members are part of a larger group of 24, who had been evacuated from the MSC Elsa 3 by the Indian Coast Guard after it sank about 14.6 nautical miles off the coast of Kerala after severely listing (tilting to one side due to the entry of water inside the vessel) in May 2025.
The ship's Master, Chief Officer, Chief Engineer, Second Engineer, and other crew members hailing from Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and the Philippines have now moved the High Court, alleging that they have been illegally detained in India for over a year in connection with a criminal case linked with the shipwreck.
The matter was briefly heard by Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas, who issued a notice seeking responses from the Centre and the state government.
The matter will be further heard on May 29, as per a Bar and Bench report.
The MSC Elsa 3 shipwreck
The shipwreck of the Liberian-flagged container ship on its journey from the Vizhinjam Port to the Cochin Port caused major legal troubles due to the nature of the environmental damage it caused to the region.
A number of its containers—many with hazardous materials like furnace oil and diesel—were removed from its shipwreck in October that year.
This, in turn, had a severe impact on fishing communities in the region, who joined the legal battle against the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), which managed the MSC Elsa 3.
At the time, the Mercantile Marine Department (MMD), Kochi, had issued a notice preventing all 24 crew members from leaving Kochi without written permission.
The Coastal Police also registered an FIR under several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023 in connection with the tragedy.
In that regard, the petitioners have questioned why they were kept in India for so long, claiming that they had cooperated with the investigation, and that none of them had been individually named as the accused in the FIR.
They also claimed that the FIR only contained a minor reference to the Master of the ship, and also highlighted a major opportunity they had in August 2025 to leave the country, which they were denied.
In August 2025, the Director General of Shipping (DGS) had allowed 15 members to return to their home countries but excluded the petitioners.
They further alleged that despite multiple letters and emails seeking release on humanitarian grounds, they were not allowed to leave, as the authorities continued to insist the crew members were required to stay in India for the case.
Alleging violations of Article 14 (right to equality) and 21 (right to life and liberty) of the Indian Constitution, the petitioners have now moved the High Court to clear their names and the path for them to leave the country.