Oil spill risk after container ship carrying ‘hazardous cargo’ capsizes off Kerala, coastal areas put on alert

By Shaju Philip , Pavneet Singh Chadha, The Indian Express, May 26: Kerala Ship Oil Spill: A Liberian-flagged container vessel, MSC ELSA 3, which had started tilting 38 nautical miles off the coast of Kochi on Saturday, has now completely capsized and is at risk of spilling oil, officials said Sunday. All crew members have been rescued.

Among the containers the vessel was carrying were 13 that contained what the Coast Guard said was “hazardous cargo” and 12 that contained calcium carbide.

The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority has issued an alert to the public to keep away from objects that may drift towards the coast.

According to the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), the vessel capsized rapidly in the early hours of Sunday “due to flooding in one of the holds”.

“All 24 crew members of Liberian-flagged container vessel MSC ELSA 3 were rescued safely, 21 by Indian Coast Guard and 3 by Indian Navy ship, Sujata, after the vessel sank off Kochi this morning. The vessel was carrying 640 containers, including 13 containing hazardous cargo and 12 with calcium carbide. Additionally, the ship had 84.44 metric tonnes of diesel and 367.1 metric tonnes of furnace oil in its tanks,” the Coast Guard said in a post on X.

The Coast Guard said it has activated comprehensive pollution response preparedness and is working in close coordination with the state administration to address all possible scenarios.

A Defence spokesperson in Kochi said the Navy and the Coast Guard are fighting to contain the oil spill. “On Saturday, 21 of the 24 crew members were rescued, and the remaining three were rescued on Sunday,” the spokesperson said.

The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, on Sunday said, “Based on hypothetical simulations, the spilled oil pollutant can reach the coastal stretch of Alappuzha, Ambalapuzha, Arattupuzha and Karunagappally within 36-48 hours of release. These coastal zones are at risk of contamination and should be given prompt attention to minimise potential environmental impact.”

SDMA member secretary Shekhar Kuriakose said the Chief Secretary has convened a meeting on Sunday to review the situation. “People have been told not to go near objects that are suspected to be from the sunken ship and are washed ashore. They should keep at least 200 metres away from such objects containing dangerous material. The Navy has informed that one km per hour is the approximate speed at which the containers will drift. The coastal regions of Ernakulam and Alappuzha have the highest possibility of getting the containers washed ashore,” he said.

INCOIS said it is closely monitoring the situation and remains in coordination with relevant authorities, providing vital ocean forecast information and advisory services to support ongoing search, rescue, and environmental response operations.

Soon after the tilting of the cargo ship was reported, INCOIS activated its Search and Rescue Aid Tool (SARAT) to assist in locating containers or drifting objects, it said. Additionally, ‘oil spill trajectory advisory’ simulations were run to forecast the potential spread and movement of any oil discharge, aiding mitigation and cleanup planning, it said.

‘Saksham’ engaged in oil spill response

The defence spokesperson in Kochi said the Coast Guard ship, Saksham, is engaged in oil spill response. In addition, a Coast Guard Dornier aircraft is being launched in “PR configuration for mitigating oil spill”. In the context of an oil spill response, “PR configuration” typically refers to the use of the ‘co-polarisation ratio’ (PR) method to assess the oil-water mixture ratio in a spill. This method helps determine the proportion of oil in an oil-water mixture, which is crucial for effective emergency treatment and cleanup efforts.

After the vessel tilted on Saturday, the shipping firm had brought another vessel to the area, and three crew members remained onboard the ill-fated ship as per instructions from the company. At one stage, the Indian Navy had explored methods to assist the ship to be taken under tow, so as to prevent further environmental damage. On Saturday, the ship, which had listed 26 degrees, did not report further listing and was in a state of equilibrium.

However, on Sunday, the ship started submerging further and more containers fell into the sea. Under this circumstance, the three crew members were taken onboard by INS Sujata, which was positioned very close to the now sunken vessel. Twenty one crew members are being brought to the Coast Guard jetty, and three others, including the captain and the chief engineer, are being brought to the Naval jetty in Kochi.