Authorities have issued an oil spill alert after a Liberian-flagged cargo ship sank Sunday near Kochi, spilling hazardous materials. The vessel, MSC ELSA 3, was traveling from Vizhinjam port to Kochi when it started tilting off the coast.
Flooding in one of the compartments caused the ship to capsize into the Arabian Sea in the early hours of Sunday. Indian Navy personnel launched an hours-long rescue operation and successfully saved all 24 crew members aboard the distressed vessel.
However, the ship carried 640 containers, and several have broken loose, drifting dangerously close to Kerals’s heavily populated coastal zone. Local authorities quickly responded by urging residents to avoid contact with oil or containers that could wash ashore unexpectedly.
The chief minister’s office said oil slicks might reach any part of the state’s coastline, triggering alerts across the region. The Indian Coast Guard deployed a pollution control vessel with specialized tools to contain the oil and chemical spread.
An aircraft outfitted with spill detection systems is now surveying the area, mapping affected zones along the Arabian Sea. Officials confirmed that the ship had over 84 metric tonnes of diesel and 367 tonnes of furnace oil in storage.
Thirteen of the containers contained hazardous substances, while twelve held calcium carbide, which reacts with seawater to emit flammable gas. Fishermen have been warned to avoid venturing near the sunken vessel, as pollution levels could endanger human and marine life.
Pollution control teams are now working around the clock to prevent long-term damage to Kerala’s environmentally sensitive coastal stretch. The scenic shoreline near Kochi is not only a key tourist destination but also a biologically diverse marine ecosystem. Investigators are now reviewing safety logs and cargo documentation to determine liability and prevent similar incidents in the future.
