MSC Elsa 3 sinking: Kerala HC tells 4 foreign crew to approach trial court for nod to return home

Kochi: High court has directed four seafarers of the sunken cargo vessel MSC Elsa 3, including the ship’s captain, Ivanov Alexander, to approach the jurisdictional magistrate court for permission to return to their respective countries, noting that the magistrate court has already taken cognisance of the case relating to the shipwreck.Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas issued the directive while considering petitions filed by the four seafarers, who were rescued from the vessel after it sank and subsequently retained in Kochi. They had approached HC seeking permission to return to their home countries.Earlier, HC had granted permission to three other crew members to leave the country, subject to certain stringent conditions, as no criminal proceedings were pending against them.However, in the case of Ivanov Alexander and three others — Reynold Paredes Mahinay of the Philippines, Oleksii Chornyi of Ukraine and Kakhidze Roman of Georgia — HC had noted that they had been arrayed as accused in a case registered by the Coastal Police Station, Fort Kochi, in connection with the shipwreck. HC had therefore sought details regarding the proceedings initiated against them.During the subsequent hearing, the govt pleader submitted that the final report, which had earlier been returned by the magistrate court due to certain defects, had been resubmitted after curing those defects and that the magistrate court had since taken cognisance of the matter.

Recording the submission, HC directed the petitioners to approach the magistrate court, either upon receipt of summons or by filing an application to advance the proceedings, and seek appropriate relief, including permission to travel abroad.MSC Elsa 3, a Liberian-flagged vessel, capsized about 13nm off Alappuzha on May 25, 2025, while sailing from Vizhinjam port to Kochi port.