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1 week ago
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The Kerala government has issued a high alert along the State’s coastline after the sinking of the cargo ship MSC ELSA 3 has raised concerns about an extensive oil spill along the coastline.
At an emergency high-level meeting called by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan here on Monday to review the situation and to coordinate response measures, the Mr. Vijayan sought to assure the public that all necessary precautionary and emergency measures were being coordinated through various departments and national agencies.
However, the residents along the coastline and fisherfolk should maintain utmost vigil in the light of the emerging situation.
Mr. Vijayan reiterated that in all emergency response endeavours, the government’s priority will be to ensure public safety, environmental protection and to safeguard the fishing community’s livelihood.
All crew members on board the ship have been rescued.
The vessel, which sank 14.6 nautical miles from the Thottappally spillway, was carrying 643 containers, of which 73 were empty. However, 13 containers were carrying hazardous materials such as calcium carbide, a chemical that can ignite on contact with water. The ship’s fuel has also leaked into the water.
As of Monday morning, nine containers have washed ashore, with four surfacing near Sakthikulangara harbour, three near Chavara and one each at Cheriazheekal and Thrikkunnapuzha in Alappuzha.
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has deployed two vessels to contain the oil spill and a Dornier aircraft has also been deployed for the aerial dispersal of dispersants or chemicals which can break down the oil slicks and reduce the surface area of the oil spill.
As this is considered a tier-2 maritime incident, all response measures are being managed utilising national forces, facilities and resources and overseen by the Director General of Coast Guard, who is also the head of the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan. The Indian Coast Guard is the nodal agency for coordinating oil spill response efforts in the country.
More containers may likely wash up
It was pointed out at the meeting that there was a higher probability of more containers washing up along the coast at Alappuzha, Kollam, Ernakulam, and Thiruvananthapuram districts. The public is thus urged to maintain utmost caution not to gather around and to avoid handling the containers or any unidentified objects found along the coastline. All sightings should be reported by dialling 112.
While the government has already issued a weather-related warning to fishers not to venture into the sea, the authorities reiterated that fishing activities should be avoided within a 20-nautical-mile radius of the accident site.
The government has directed districts to deploy two rapid response teams (RRTs) each under the Factories and Boilers department at all southern districts from Thrissur and one RRT each in northern districts so that cranes and earthmovers can be used to remove the containers which have washed ashore.
More RRTs are also being arranged under the Pollution Control Board to handle any oil spills reaching the coast. The district disaster management authorities and the police will render all assistance to the RRTs.
The Chief Minister has directed that an action plan be prepared, with the cooperation of the Coast Guard, Navy, Forest department and the Factories and Boilers department, to manage any contingency which may arise due to the possible risk of the oil/ ship fuel settling on the seabed.
The Coast Guard, the department of Ports and the Navy have been directed to augment preparedness measures to manage the oil spill contingency.
All districts and relevant departments have also been given specific directions to manage the containers washing up ashore, the oil spill and the oil settling on the seabed, the Chief Minister’s Office said.
Published - May 26, 2025 03:53 pm IST
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