Latest news with #Sreekala
The Print
3 days ago
- General
- The Print
Not just oil, capsized Liberian ship poses another environmental threat. It's all over Kerala & TN coasts
According to the Kerala government, the vessel carried 643 containers, including 13 with hazardous materials and 12 containing calcium carbide—a chemical known to ignite on contact with water. The vessel also held 84.44 metric tonnes (MT) of diesel and 367.1 MT of furnace oil. On 24 May, MSC ELSA 3, en route to Kochi, began tilting soon after it left Vizhinjam port, which reports said was because of a technical issue. By the next day, the ship had completely sunk, around 4.6 nautical miles off the Thottappally spillway in Alappuzha. Thiruvananthapuram/New Delhi: Days after the Liberian-flagged shipping vessel capsized off the Kerala coast, tiny plastic pellets and other non-degradable remnants from the shipwreck have started washing up on Kerala and Tamil Nadu's coasts. Experts have raised an alarm over the impact of the spill as state government officials scramble to contain it. The initial concerns about oil spills and debris drifting along the Indian were soon realised, and the state is still struggling to mitigate the impact. Around four days later, on 28 May, tiny plastic pellets, or nurdles, began washing up on the Thiruvananthapuram coast. The pellets, which look like hailstones, have now started mixing with the sand. Apart from plastic nurdles, Sreekala S, chairperson of the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), wood, cloth, paper, glass, and tea bags, all believed to be stock aboard MSC ELSA-3, are also reaching the shores. Sreekala added that the district administrations, along with the KSPCB and the Disaster Management Authority (DMA), are now working with volunteers to collect debris from Varkala and will be expanding the operations to other coasts as and when more such instances are reported. 'We conducted a drone survey on Thursday to identify the affected areas. Once the collection process is complete, we will decide on the disposal method,' she said. Furthermore, Sreekala said that though no major oil spill from the ship had been reported, trace amounts of oil have been detected along the Alappuzha coast. Authorities in Kerala also said that 55 containers have floated ashore so far, reaching Alappuzha, Kollam, and Thiruvananthapuram. Containers have also been spotted as far as the coast of Tamil Nadu's Nagercoil. The pellets, which have been identified as the most hazardous items due to their non-degradable nature and potential to harm marine life, have been found predominantly along the Thiruvananthapuram coast, stretching from Varkala in the north to Thumba in the south. Robert Panipilla, founder of Friend of Marine Life, a civil society organisation that conducts underwater studies, raised concerns over the impact of the capsizing. 'The government isn't sharing information about what exactly sank with the ship. We depend on marine life, and we have the right to know.' Also Read: Global warming alarm bells ring as glacier collapse buries entire Swiss village, a first in 125 years Impact on marine life & concern about livelihood On Wednesday morning, D. Christhudas, a 52-year-old fisherman, woke up to a disturbing sight—plastic pellets and cashews had washed ashore in his locality of Adimalathura, Thiruvananthapuram. While he informed the local police station, the tehsildar only visited the village for inspections Thursday. Christhudas has not been able to work since. 'Not just here—eight nearby coastal villages are facing the same issue. And the authorities haven't taken any action since yesterday (Thursday),' Christhudas told ThePrint Friday. Now, a deeper fear looms—the loss of livelihood. Experts are also worried about the long-term implications of the incident. According to Panipilla, if the plastic remains in the sea for long, biomass will start attaching to it. Eventually, marine life will consume it. 'These pellets resemble fish eggs, which can deceive marine organisms,' he said. Balakrishnan Nair, director of the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), also echoed concerns about the plastic pellets. 'We don't have information on how many pellets were on board. But if they are deposited in the sea, it poses a serious danger.' Experts say the shipping company should be held accountable for the damage. 'People have a right to know what risks they are facing from chemical contamination to the safety of their livelihoods and how the government plans to respond,' Avinash Chanchal, deputy programme director (campaigns) at Greenpeace South Asia, said. Government action A senior official from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), on condition of anonymity, said that the Centre is in touch with the Kerala and Tamil Nadu governments for regular updates on the cleaning exercise. 'The challenge is that these pellets are very tiny and it is difficult to contain their movement,' the official said, adding, 'In Tamil Nadu, some untampered sacks of these pellets have been collected. But most pellets have broken their packaging and are floating in the waters.' A team of scientists from the Centre will be visiting Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the coming days to assess the situation and formulate a plan to contain the damage, the official said. Kerala government's initial plan is that, apart from manually cleaning the coasts from visible pellets, they will also be installing booms—barriers to collect debris in waterbodies—near Alappuzha's Vembanad Lake and Neendakara. This will not only catch the pellets but will also prevent further mixing of oil with freshwater sources. 'The only concern is that oil might leak if the hull breaks. So far, no such issue [major oil leak] has been observed,' Sreekala said. On Monday, the Indian Coast Guard also deployed vessels—ICGS Vikram, Saksham, and Samarth—to the accident site. The ships used infrared cameras to detect oil spills and apply oil spill dispersants (OSDs) to contain the spread. A Dornier aircraft stationed in Kochi is also conducting aerial surveillance for the debris from the wreckage, according to Kochi defence PRO Atul Pillai. The shipping company responsible for the vessel is actively engaged in salvaging and removing the containers, according to officials. 'The company has informed us that they aim to salvage the sunken vessel by 3 July,' Sreekala said. (Edited by Sanya Mathur) Also Read: 4 western disturbances this month made it wettest since 1901. Delhi rains in May isn't all good news
Hindustan Times
7 days ago
- General
- Hindustan Times
Oil spill seen on video as over 100 containers float post Kochi shipwreck
Over 100 containers were spotted floating in sea on Monday after the Liberian-flagged container vessel MV MSC ELSA 3 sank approximately 15 nautical miles off the coast of Kerala, southwest of Alappuzha, on Sunday. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) released aerial visuals of the site, showing numerous containers and a visible spill spread across the water. The spill is estimated to have covered an area of 2x1 nautical miles, with some containers reportedly breaking apart and their contents dispersing into nearby waters. ICG Ship Saksham, already on standby in Pollution Response (PR) mode, was deployed to carry out counter-pollution efforts, while an ICG Dornier aircraft was flown over the area for aerial assessment and to spray Oil Spill Dispersant (OSD). Maritime advisories have been issued, warning vessels in the region to stay alert and navigate cautiously due to floating debris and potential hazards. The vessel, en route from Vizhinjam to Kochi, capsized roughly 38 nautical miles from the shore before sinking with its cargo. According to officials, the ship was carrying 643 containers, including 73 empty ones and 13 with hazardous materials, among them calcium carbide — a chemical known to react dangerously with water, releasing highly flammable acetylene gas. According to Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KPCB) Chairperson Sreekala S, no containers carrying calcium carbide have washed ashore so far, and only a thin oil sheen has been detected following the sinking of a Liberian-flagged vessel off the Kerala coast. After a high-level meeting and the submission of a status report to the state government, Sreekala told PTI that rough sea conditions had prevented dispersants from being sprayed by ships, prompting authorities to use aircraft instead. "The waves are four to five metres high, and ships cannot spray the dispersants. If we come across thickened oil, we use jute sacks filled with sawdust to absorb it," she said. She explained that if oil reaches the coast, beach cleaning efforts will be launched in coordination with the Pollution Control Board and local administration. "The oil-contaminated sand will need to be scooped out and sent to Kerala Enviro Infrastructure Limited, a hazardous waste treatment and disposal facility located at Ambalamugal, Kochi. We have contacted them, and they are ready with equipment and trucks to transport the sand,' she said. So far, she confirmed, no oil presence has been detected in Kollam or Alappuzha, where some containers have washed ashore. "We have collected water samples from all these areas," she said. Sreekala also said concerns about calcium carbide reacting with seawater are, for now, unfounded. "We have no reports of any containers carrying calcium carbide reaching the shores," she said. In the event such a container does reach land, several agencies including the Fire Force, Chemical Explosives Department, Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation, and the Department of Factories and Boilers are prepared to respond. "They have a protocol in place for that. Scientifically, if calcium carbide mixes with water, it can produce acetylene gas and calcium hydroxide. Acetylene is a highly inflammable gas when it comes into contact with water. It cannot be extinguished with water—dust or clay powder is used to douse such fires," she said, adding that all precautions are in place should such a scenario arise. To prevent the oil slick from reaching Ashtamudi and Vembanad lakes, the KPCB is set to send a request to the Coast Guard via the State Disaster Management Authority for deploying boomers at key locations. "The letter is ready, requesting the Coast Guard to place boomers at Thottappally Spillway to prevent the spread to Vembanad, and at Neendakara to prevent the spread to Ashtamudi Lake. If the Coast Guard does not have the required number, we will have to source them from elsewhere," she said. The KPCB has been on high alert since the evening of May 24, she said, and field officers have been deployed to monitor the coastline from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod. "Then we were informed that the containers were moving towards the southern direction, and our officials were sent to Kollam and Alappuzha. They are coordinating with other agencies," she added. Recovery and handling of the sunken containers will be overseen by the Directorate General of Shipping and other authorities. The high-level meeting was held to assess all possible scenarios, Sreekala said. (With ANI, PTI inputs)
Time of India
7 days ago
- General
- Time of India
Shipwreck: Thin oil spill found, no calcium carbide containers ashore
So far, no calcium carbide containers have washed ashore, and what has been detected is a thin layer of oil spill after the Liberian vessel sank with hazardous cargo on board off the Kerala coast, according to Sreekala S, chairperson of the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KPCB). Following a high-level meeting held here and the submission of a status report to the state government, the KPCB chairperson told PTI that ships were unable to spray dispersants at sea to break up the oil spill due to rough conditions, and that aircraft are now being used for the task. "The waves are four to five metres high, and ships cannot spray the dispersants. If we come across thickened oil, we use jute sacks filled with sawdust to absorb it," Sreekala said. She said that if the oil reaches the shore, beach cleaning would have to be carried out in coordination with officials from the Pollution Control Board and the district administration. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded : 0% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track default , selected Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. "The oil-contaminated sand will need to be scooped out and sent to Kerala Enviro Infrastructure Limited, a hazardous waste treatment and disposal facility located at Ambalamugal, Kochi. We have contacted them, and they are ready with equipment and trucks to transport the sand," Sreekala said, adding that so far, there has been no presence of oil either in Kollam or in Alappuzha, where the containers washed ashore. "We have collected water samples from all these areas," she said. Live Events The chairperson said that fears regarding calcium carbide mixing with seawater are, for the time being, unfounded. "We have no reports of any containers carrying calcium carbide reaching the shores," she said. However, if such an event occurs, the Fire Force, Chemical Explosives Department, Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation, and the Department of Factories and Boilers will coordinate to safely manage the threat. "They have a protocol in place for that. Scientifically, if calcium carbide mixes with water, it can produce acetylene gas and calcium hydroxide. Acetylene is a highly inflammable gas when it comes into contact with water. It cannot be extinguished with water-- dust or clay powder is used to douse such fires," Sreekala said, adding that all necessary precautions are in place if such a situation arise. In order to prevent the oil spill from reaching the Ashtamudi and Vembanad lakes, the KPCB will issue a letter to the Coast Guard through the State Disaster Management Authority requesting the placement of boomers. "The letter is ready, requesting the Coast Guard to place boomers at Thottappally Spillway to prevent the spread to Vembanad, and at Neendakara to prevent the spread to Ashtamudi Lake. If the Coast Guard does not have the required number, we will have to source them from elsewhere," Sreekala said. She added that the KPCB has been on high alert since the evening of May 24, issuing instructions to its field officers to monitor and manage the situation along the entire coastline from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod. "Then we were informed that the containers were moving towards the southern direction, and our officials were sent to Kollam and Alappuzha. They are coordinating with other agencies," she said. The Chairperson added that the recovery and management of the containers would be handled by the Directorate General of Shipping and other relevant authorities, and that the high-level meeting was held to discuss the various possible scenarios. The ship carrying cargo from Vizhinjam to Kochi, capsized around 38 nautical miles from the shore and later sank with containers carrying hazardous cargo. According to official sources, the ship had a total of 643 containers on board, of which 73 were empty and 13 were carrying hazardous and dangerous goods, including calcium carbide -- a chemical that reacts violently with water to release highly flammable acetylene gas.
