The Liberian-flagged container vessel MSC Elsa 3 has sunk approximately 38 nautical miles southwest of Kochi, raising serious concerns over a potential environmental hazard along the coast of Kerala.
The 184-meter-long ship, built in 1997 and en route from Vizhinjam to the Port of Cochin, began listing severely early Saturday.
Carrying 640 containers including 13 classified as hazardous and over 450 metric tonnes of marine fuel, the vessel capsized and sank on Sunday morning, roughly 14.6 nautical miles offshore.
The crew issued a distress signal at 08:00 UTC on Saturday, reporting a 26-degree list to starboard.
Indian Navy and Coast Guard teams responded swiftly, rescuing 21 crew members on Saturday and the remaining three early Sunday under deteriorating weather conditions.
The incident has triggered a large-scale environmental response.
Over 100 containers are suspected to have fallen into the Arabian Sea, with at least 25 confirmed adrift and drifting at approximately 3 km/h toward the coastal districts of Alappuzha, Kollam, Ernakulam, and Thiruvananthapuram.
ome of the lost containers carry hazardous materials, including calcium carbide, prompting emergency coastal alerts. Several containers have already washed ashore, though the full extent remains uncertain.
Authorities have also confirmed the leakage of marine fuels, including 367.1 tonnes of Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO) and 84.44 tonnes of diesel.
While no major oil slick has yet been detected, the Indian Coast Guard has deployed two vessels and a Dornier aircraft to monitor the area and apply chemical dispersants. The response is being coordinated under the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan.
Mariners operating in the vicinity have been advised to steer clear of the vessel’s last known coordinates and remain alert for drifting containers and possible fuel contamination.
