Shipping disasters off Kerala coast highlighted at UN ocean meet in Nice
The two recent shipping disasters off the Kerala coast and issues related to the resultant environmental pollution were highlighted at the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC-3) by a Thiruvananthapuram-based organisation on Wednesday. UNOC-3 is under way at the French city of Nice.
Kumar Sahayaraju of the Thiruvananthapuram-based Friends of Marine Life (FML) presented the issue at the Ocean Base Camp, an open space for civil society organisations. Mr. Sahayaraju said the two accidents, involving large container vessels, had caused severe pollution in the sea and on the Kerala coast.
These two incidents, according to him, spotlighted the fact that the current maritime laws were inadequate to deal with the fallout of such disasters. 'Responsibility must lie either with the producers of these hazardous materials or with the shipping companies that transport them. Accountability must be enforced under stronger maritime laws, with clear legal consequences for violations,' Mr. Sahayaraju said.
The FML, which is represented at the UNOC by Mr. Sahayaraju and the organisation's founder Robert Panipilla, also demanded that tracking devices for locating hazardous cargo in the event of an accident be made mandatory for all such cargo container shipments.
In his presentation, Mr. Sahayaraju urged the United Nations to urgently establish and enforce international regulations governing the maritime transport of chemical and plastic pollutants.
The Liberia-flagged MSC Elsa 3 sank off Kochi in May. The Singapore-flagged M.V. Wan Hai 503 caught fire after a massive explosion off Beypore in June.
At the UN conference, the FML, which is involved in seabed studies and ocean conservation activities, appealed for urgent international action to protect marine ecosystems and coastal communities whose survival depends on them.
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