Liberian ship MSC ELSA 3 sinks off Kochi; Coast Guard on high alert amid pollution concerns

A Liberian container ship, which drifted off the Kochi coast on Saturday, submerged in the Arabian Sea after the Indian Navy's efforts to tow the ship became unsuccessful. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) launched full pollution response following the sinking, according to the Ministry of Defence.

Around 400 containers were on board the 184-metre-long ship, MSC ELSA 3. The vessel was sailing from Vizhinjam to Cochin Port when it tilted 26 degrees to the starboard side, around 38 nautical miles from southwest off Kochi coast.

In accordance with Search and Rescue (SAR) protocols, several ships were diverted to the spot to rescue the crew. The ship had 24 crew members and 21 of them were rescued initially. Nine of the crew were rescued by MV Han Yi while 12 others were shift safely to ICG ship Arnvesh around 10 pm. 

The captain, the chief engineer and second engineer remained aboard the ship to help with planned salvage operations. But they were rescued by INS Sujata on Sunday morning as the situation worsened and the ship sank.

Eight containers fell into the sea initially. The authorities had alerted about potential leakage of hazardous substances from the containers and hence warned against going near the containers that drift to the coast. Fishermen and resident along the coast in Ernakulam and Alappuzha have been asked to exercise caution.

ICG aircraft have been carrying out aerial surveillance to detect potential oil spills while ICG Saksham with pollution response equipment has been deployed at the spot. No oil spills were reported yet.

India