State looks for insurance compensation in ship accident case

Though the sinking of MSC ELSA 3 off the Kerala coast sparked significant environmental concerns, including potential oil spills and spread of hazardous chemicals, the State government is of the view that there is no need to file an immediate criminal case against the shipping company in connection with the ship accident.

Instead of pursuing a criminal case against the company, the government is looking for adequate insurance compensation through negotiation. A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting between Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the Director General of Shipping recently.

According to a note prepared by the Chief Secretary, accessed by The Hindu, as per a discussion held between the Chief Minister and the Director General of Shipping on May 29, the general consensus in the State is that a criminal case need not be filed immediately and that the entire focus at this time should be on collecting evidence of damages so that evidence-based claims can be raised.

“The MSC is also a reputed company which patronises the Vizhinjam International Seaport, and the company requires the goodwill of Kerala for its operations here. It is also in its interest to cooperate with Kerala and settle the claims through the insurance agency. Considering all these aspects, our claim should be raised based on strong evidence and without any compromise,” the note says. 

The meeting also noted that a damage liability desk has been set up at Kochi by the Protection and Indemnity (P&l) Insurance Agency. Deputy Nautical Advisor Captain Anish Joseph is the nodal officer who is in contact with this agency.

It was also decided that the oil in the hull of the ship will be extracted by experts on July 3. Therefore, till the oil is extracted or the buoys are placed around the sunken ship, it is best not to permit fishing within 20 nautical miles of the ship. The removal of the shipwreck and containers near the ship can be undertaken only after the monsoon in Kerala.

The government decision has invited sharp criticism from various corners, with a section alleging that the State and the Centre are deliberately dragging their feet in the case, as the opposite party was global shipping giant MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) and the port in question in the incident was Vizhinjam.

According to maritime law expert V.J. Mathew, an FIR should have been registered in Kerala apart from arresting the owner or master of the ship. The damage to the marine ecosystem is beyond the scale and size of the initial analysis.

The cost to retrieve the ship along with containers should be extracted from the shipping company. Moreover, the long-term impact of the incident on the marine ecosystem should be assessed scientifically, and the company should be held liable for fixing the damage by providing sufficient compensation, he said.

The State government has not even formally released the cargo manifest of the ship, while the cargo manifest of another ship that caught fire off the coast of Kerala was in the public domain soon after the incident. 

The nearly three-decade-old ship carrying more than 640 containers sank on May 25. As per reports, the ship had 13 containers with hazardous goods, and 12 of them had calcium carbide, a reactive compound.

Published - June 09, 2025 08:32 pm IST