Liberian Ship Capsises In Kerala Indian Coast Guard Monitoring Oil Spill In Kerala
Breaking | Pro Defence Kochi says the situation is being closely monitored by the Indian Coast Guard. Efforts are underway to contain the oil spill off the Kerala coast.-----The Kerala government has issued a high alert along the state's coastline following the capsizing of container vessel MSC ELSA 3 off the Kochi coast.Three vessels of the Indian Coast Guard – Vikram, Saksham and Samarth – have been deployed off the Kochi coast to respond to a marine pollution emergency that arose after a Liberian container vessel MSC ELSA 3 capsized. Containers from the shipwreck had started washing ashore since yesterday. Some of these containers contain hazardous cargo apart from several metric tonnes of oil which is posing a threat of oil pollution. n18oc_india
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Ship capsize: Plea seeks rehab package
Kochi: A PIL has been filed in HC by former MP T N Prathapan seeking a comprehensive compensation and rehabilitation package for the fishermen and other stakeholders affected by the capsize of the Liberian-flagged vessel MSC ELSA-3 off the Kerala coast. A bench of Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Basant Balaji will consider the petition on Thursday. The petitioner alleged that the incident led to an oil spill and the discharge of toxic substances, including calcium carbide and nurdles, causing severe damage to the marine ecosystem and traditional fishing communities. The petition contends that the Kerala state pollution control board has a statutory duty to prepare and implement an effective oil spill disaster contingency plan. It further seeks a directive to the central and state govts to constitute a high-level expert committee to assess the environmental damage, recommend restoration measures, and initiate legal action against the shipowner and insurer under relevant international conventions and national laws.
United News of India
a day ago
- United News of India
President Murmu confers armed forces with distinguished service medal
New Delhi, June 4 (UNI) President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday conferred 92 distinguished service decorations to serving and retired personnel of the Armed Forces, Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Border Roads Organisation (BRO) during the Defence Investiture Ceremony 2025 (Phase-II) at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. These decorations included 30 Param Vishisht Seva Medals (PVSMs), five Uttam Yudh Seva Medals (UYSMs) and 57 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals (AVSMs), a Defence Ministry statement said. Personnel awarded with Param Vishisht Seva Medal included Lt Gen Manoj Kumar Katiyar, Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth, Lt Gen Ram Chander Tiwari, Lt Gen Ram Chander Tiwari, Lt Gen Devendra Sharma, Vice Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh, Admiral Suraj Berry, Air Marshal Narmdeshwar Tiwari and Air Marshal Narmdeshwar Tiwari. Personnel conferred with Uttam Yudh Seva Medal were Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai, Lt Gen Zubin A Minwalla, Lt Gen Hitesh Bhalla, Air Marshal Sujeet Pushpakar Dharkar and Air Marshal Pankaj Mohan Sinha. Among those conferred with Ati Vishisht Seva Medal included Lt Gen Pushpendra Pal, Lt Gen Sandeep Jain, Lt Gen Sadhna S Nair, Lt Gen Bhavnish Kumar, Vice Admiral Chempakvilas Rammohan Praveen Nair, Air Marshal Venkataramanan Rajasekhar, Air Marshal Sanjiv Ghuratia and Director General Paramesh Sivamani. These medals have been given to the personnel for distinguished service of exceptional order. Present on the occasion were Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and other dignitaries. UNI RBE SSP Add reaction
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Hindustan Times
Troubling gaps in India's coastal governance
More than a week after a container ship with sensitive cargo sank off the Kerala coast, there are few indications of how the incident occurred, or of the full extent of environmental damage. While port authorities maintain there has been no significant oil spill, the discovery of floating nurdles along coastlines in Kerala and Tamil Nadu has raised red flags. The underlying regulatory questions, perhaps more pressing, remain unanswered. The capsizing of the Liberia-flagged MSC ELSA 3, about 40 nautical miles off Kochi, has exposed troubling gaps in India's coastal governance. The vessel was carrying 643 containers, including a declared consignment of hazardous materials such as calcium carbide, a volatile chemical known to react explosively with seawater. It was also reportedly laden with furnace oil and diesel for propulsion. That such a ship, operating under opaque ownership and sailing under a flag of convenience, was allowed to transit between two Indian ports without closer scrutiny reveals a deeper malaise — a regulatory culture overly reliant on paperwork and cursory checks, rather than robust, ground-level enforcement. Yet effective crisis management is no substitute for strong preventive oversight. The ELSA 3's passage from Vizhinjam to Kochi, a short domestic leg possibly linked to cargo bound for a longer voyage, should have raised multiple red flags. The vessel was registered in Liberia, a country known for its open registry and lax regulatory controls. As one of the most prominent 'flags of convenience' (FoC) states, Liberia is frequently used by shipowners seeking to avoid stricter labour, safety, and environmental standards. Tellingly, Liberia has reportedly declined to cooperate with any formal investigation, forcing Indian authorities to confront the legal and regulatory fallout alone. The vessel's crew composition and operational history only deepen concerns. Over the past two decades, the MSC ELSA 3 had reportedly changed names and flags multiple times, a practice known as flag hopping, often used to evade regulatory scrutiny. Its multinational crew, comprising Russians, Ukrainians, Georgians, and Filipinos, is not unusual in global shipping, but such combinations often signal low-cost, third-party management with diffuse lines of accountability. These are not trivial procedural lapses. When hazardous cargo is transported through domestic waters, transparency of ownership, clarity about crew competence, and rigour in cargo verification must be non-negotiable. Yet there is no evidence that authorities conducted meaningful checks before the ELSA 3 sailed from Vizhinjam. Equally troubling is the failure to translate technical risk into public safety measures. Fisherfolk and environmental groups along the Kerala coast have expressed frustration over the absence of timely advisories and delayed official communication. Even as coastal communities reported floating debris, tar balls, and chemical odours, government response remained muted. India's legal frameworks for hazardous cargo management are reasonably comprehensive on paper. The Merchant Shipping (Carriage of Cargo) Rules, 1995, issued under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958, require detailed cargo manifests, safety protocols, and hazard disclosures. For hazardous materials, India follows the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code, enforced through the directives of the directorate general of shipping. The country is also a signatory to the MARPOL Convention, which sets international standards for oil-spill prevention and marine pollution control. Yet the gap between regulation and enforcement remains glaring. Inspections are often perfunctory, reduced to formalities on paper with little physical verification. This incident is not a one-off. The 2017 oil spill near Chennai and a chemical leak off Mumbai in 2010 both exposed severe shortcomings in enforcement and emergency preparedness. The 2011 sinking of the MV Rak, a poorly maintained Panama-flagged vessel off the Mumbai coast, revealed similar flaws. The ship had continued operating in Indian waters despite repeated warnings about its condition. Subsequent investigations pointed to inadequate port inspections and poor inter-agency coordination, failings that mirror many aspects of the MSC ELSA 3 episode. A recurring theme in these incidents is the weakness of port state control — the mechanism by which countries inspect foreign-flagged vessels in their waters to ensure compliance with international standards. Indian authorities have long hesitated to strengthen this function, allowing substandard ships to operate with impunity. The MSC ELSA 3, flagged for deficiencies during previous inspections — including one at Tuticorin last year—should have attracted far greater scrutiny. India's cargo carriage norms also deserve closer examination. While coastal trade is nominally reserved for Indian-flagged vessels, a 2018 exemption permits foreign ships to carry certain categories of EXIM and agricultural cargo without a DG Shipping licence. The ELSA 3's voyage likely qualified under these rules, but its hazardous cargo should have triggered a more rigorous inspection regime. At the very least, consignments involving reactive chemicals like calcium carbide must be publicly disclosed and centrally tracked. Fixing this ecosystem will require more than bureaucratic tightening. India must fundamentally reconsider its engagement with vessels flagged to jurisdictions known for lax compliance. This means expanding satellite tracking and Automatic Identification System (AIS) coverage, joining international efforts to monitor shadow fleets, and advocating for reform within the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). As coastal states like Kerala contend with the fallout from the ELSA 3 incident, India cannot credibly claim maritime leadership in the Indo-Pacific while tolerating regulatory blind spots in its own backyard. Maritime power is not only about naval presence or port expansion, it is also about governance, oversight, and accountability at sea. ELSA 3's capsizing may not have caused an immediate ecological catastrophe. But it has spotlighted India's chronic regulatory complacency. The next incident may not be so forgiving. Abhijit Singh is the former head of the maritime policy initiative at ORF, New Delhi. The views expressed are personal
