Sister vessel of sunken Liberian ship to be held for deposit: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has directed state port authorities not to release a sister vessel of the Liberian ship MSC Elsa 3 unless a deposit of Rs 6 crore is furnished. The court passed this order on a petition filed by six cashew importers, who claimed that their consignments were on board MSC Elsa 3, the ship that sank off the state’s coast on May 25. The court stated that the vessel may be released if proof of the deposit is produced.

Advocate Joy Thattil, counsel for the petitioners, told the court that the matter will be considered again at 1.45 pm today, during which the company is expected to provide evidence of the deposit.

The Kerala police have registered a case of rash navigation against the owner, master and crew of MSC Elsa 3, which was flagged in Liberia. The container vessel sank near Alappuzha district while reportedly carrying hazardous and combustible cargo. A First Information Report was filed at the Fort Kochi Coastal police station on June 11 under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including those related to rash navigation, negligence with hazardous substances, and causing obstruction in a public navigational route.

According to the FIR, the ship’s owners and crew are accused of handling the vessel negligently, leading to its sinking and a subsequent environmental impact. The complaint alleges that hazardous materials were not managed properly, and that drifting containers have caused significant damage to the marine environment and affected the livelihoods of the fishing community, resulting in financial losses running into lakhs of rupees. The case was filed based on a complaint by C Shamji, a resident of Alappuzha district.

The Ministry of Defence has stated that MSC Elsa 3 was carrying 640 containers, including 13 with hazardous material and 12 containing calcium carbide. It was also loaded with 84.44 metric tonnes of diesel and 367.1 metric tonnes of furnace oil.

On May 29, the Kerala government declared the wreckage of MSC Elsa 3 a state-specific disaster, given its potential environmental, social and economic implications. The Liberian-flagged ship had capsized and sunk in the Arabian Sea, 14.6 nautical miles off the Kerala coast. Since the sinking, containers have been found drifting ashore at various points along the coast in Alappuzha, Kollam and Ernakulam districts.

According to a government order, the incident raised serious environmental concerns, particularly the risk of oil spills and the spread of hazardous cargo debris.