The court has also questioned delays in conducting an independent study into the long-term environmental impact of the 'MSC Elsa 3' shipwreck.

The court has also questioned delays in conducting an independent study into the long-term environmental impact of the 'MSC Elsa 3' shipwreck.

The court has also questioned delays in conducting an independent study into the long-term environmental impact of the 'MSC Elsa 3' shipwreck.

Four sailors rescued from the MSC Elsa 3 sinking are now eyeing possible relief after the Kerala High Court directed them to seek bail at the magistrate court in Thoppumpady.

According to the Monday ruling by Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas, the four crew members of the sunken ship are now allowed to leave the country if the magistrate court grants them bail without any travel restrictions.

This comes after Justice Thomas allowed three of the seven sailors—who have been held back the state for the MSC Elsa 3 shipwreck probe—to leave for their home countries earlier this month, subject to certain conditions.

Though the Liberian-flagged ship sank on May 2025 at 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), the petitioners were ordered to stay back by the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) in August that year.

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Three of the seven remaining crew members, who have alleged that they were being illegally detained in India in connection with the criminal case linked to the shipwreck, were allowed to leave with special conditions.

This is because they were neither named in the preliminary inquiry report in the formal probe under the Merchant Shipping Act, nor were they accused in the criminal case registered by the Coastal Police Station, Fort Kochi.

Kerala HC questions delay in environmental impact probe

Amid the four sailors' wait for possible relief from the magistrate court in Thoppumpady, the Kerala High Court has also questioned delays in conducting an independent study into the long-term environmental impact of the MSC Elsa 3 shipwreck, as it had been more than a year since it sank.

A division bench of the court on Wednesday asked the Centre, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), and DGS to offer a timeline on when such a report would be conducted and submitted.

This comes after the bench received a series of public interest litigations (PILs) related to marine pollution, navigation risks and the impact of the shipwreck on coastal communities and fishermen.

In that regard, the court observed that 475 of the 643 containers remain inside the shipwreck. Another 96 containers remain on the seabed, while 72 have washed ashore on the coasts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Apart from calcium carbide, which is extremely hazardous, other dangerous items in the ship included plastic nurdles, rubber chemicals, bamboo sticks, spinning machinery, furnace oil, marine diesel, and lubricating oil.

The bench pointed out that while the DGS said it had completed oil recovery operations from the area in September 2025, questions around the wreck itself, and  its future environmental impact also demanded attention.

The bench also questioned reports submitted by consultants engaged by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC)—which owned the vessel—who reportedly found no major environmental or navigational threat from the wreck.

The case will be heard further on June 23, as the court also sits with the results of DG Shipping's preliminary report that offers a bigger picture of the issues that led to the tragedy.

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