Latest news with #Elsa3
New Indian Express
08-07-2025
- New Indian Express
Sinking of MSC Elsa 3: Kerala seeks Rs 9,531 crore compensation
KOCHI: The state government on Monday moved the High Court seeking a compensation of Rs 9,531 crore for the losses suffered in connection with the sinking of container vessel MSC Elsa 3 off Kerala coast on May 25. The government filed an admiralty suit against MSC Akiteta II, a Liberian-flagged sister vessel of Elsa 3, to secure the compensation amount for the damage caused to the economy, environment and the livelihood of fishermen following the sinking of the vessel owned by Mediterranean Shipping Company. Considering the plea, the court ordered the arrest of Akiteta II, currently docked at Vizhinjam port, until the shipping firm deposits Rs 9,531 crore in the court. The HC will consider the case on July 10. The state argued that Elsa 3 was carrying over 643 containers, which included hazardous cargo and plastic pellets known as 'nurdles'. 'Incident affected coastal economy' The subsequent oil slick and floating cargo are serious threats not only to coastal fisheries but also to public health. As of June 30, a total of 61 containers washed ashore, and about 60 tonnes of plastic nurdles alone were collected as part of the clean-up operations by over 600 government personnel and 300 volunteers, the government stated. The fish market has suffered a severe crash due to the fear of contamination, while six carcasses, including dolphins and a whale that are suspected to have died due to exposure to microplastic and toxic substances from the vessel, were found washed ashore. This has in turn affected the coastal economy and public confidence, says the admiralty suit, while claiming Rs 8626.12 crore as the damage due to pollution, Rs 378.48 crore to restore the environment, and Rs 526.51 crore for economic loss to fishers.
New Indian Express
05-07-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
Salvage of MSC Elsa 3 to begin in August
KOCHI: The salvage operations of MSC Elsa 3, which sank into the depths of Arabian Sea off Kerala coast, will begin in August, said sources with the Mercantile Marine Department (MMD) on Friday. Smit Salvage, the new salvage team engaged by the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), has submitted an action plan in this regard. T and T Salvage, which was initially engaged to recover the sunken vessel, stopped operations on June 12, which spread a shadow of uncertainty over the salvage operations. The fishermen community had also raised doubts that MSC was trying to wash its hands of the incident. However, sources at the Directorate General of Shipping said that though MSC is not the direct owner of Elsa 3, they cannot shrug off the responsibility as there are international conventions regarding such operations. The Liberian-flagged vessel was chartered for operations by MSC, which is a normal practice in the shipping sector. The Smit Salvage has informed that the salvage operations will be launched in August or when the weather conditions become favourable. They haven't arrived in Kochi, but have informed the MMD that they will arrive with all support facilities when the turbulence ends. Meanwhile, a team from the MSC shipping company is staying in Kochi. The captain and the crew members of the vessel are also in Kochi. The MMD principal officer, who is investigating the safety lapses behind the incident, has submitted an interim report to the DG Shipping and is waiting for the recovery of the voice data recorder to complete the probe. Meanwhile, MSC decided to cancel the contract with T and T Salvage as it lacked facilities for the operations. 'They were seeking help from the Kochi port and Coast Guard for the operations, which raised doubts that they lack the technical facility to conduct the salvage operations,' said an officer.
New Indian Express
24-06-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Oil extraction from sunken MSC Elsa 3 hits dead end as shipping firm drops salvage contractor
KOCHI: The efforts to extract oil from the bunkers of MSC Elsa 3, which sunk into the depths of Arabian Sea around 14.6 nautical miles off Thottappally harbour in Alappuzha has hit rock bottom as the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has ended the contract with T and T Salvage, a global leader in marine salvage and wreck removal. According to the Mercantile Marine Department, the ship owners have said that T and T Salvage was removed as they lacked expertise in removing the oil and wreck from the ship which is at a depth of 54 m from sea surface. The move of the shipping firm has raised doubts about their intention as T and T had brought expert divers from Singapore and South Africa for oil extraction and the team had successfully sealed the leaks in the oil bunker pipeline. The Director General of Shipping had issued a notice to the shipping firm on June 10 setting a 48-hour deadline for oil extraction. The diving team had completed capping and plugging of the fuel oil tanks of the sunken vessel Elsa 3 aided by diving support vessel SEAMAC III on June 12. The diving support vessel had returned to Kochi for installation of saturation diving system to aid the diving operations. The T and T Salvage had said that the shipment had arrived and were under customs ship owner had sought extension of time to start oil extraction citing adverse weather conditions. They had informed the DG Shipping that it was difficult to extract oil from the vessel due to monsoon turbulence. They had said that the hot tapping of oil from the bunker was a complex operation and the limited weather windows made it a challenging task. The agency has said that it is not practical to remove the oil from the sunken vessel due to adverse weather conditions. They are in search of a new salvage agency and have promised to start the operations once the weather improves. The U-turn of the firm has caused concern that the oil extraction and removal of ship wreck may be delayed inordinately.
The Hindu
11-06-2025
- The Hindu
MSC Elsa 3 shipwreck: Kerala Police register case
After dilly-dallying for over two weeks, the Kerala Police on Wednesday (June 11, 2025) registered a case against the owner of the Liberia-flagged MSC Elsa 3 that sank off the coast of Kerala with dangerous goods onboard on May 25. The case was registered against the owner of the MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) Elsa 3, the ship master, the crew, and others based on a complaint filed by C. Shamji, a native of Alappuzha. The first information report (FIR) registered in the Fort Kochi Coastal police station said the ship carrying dangerous goods, including explosives, was handled by the crew recklessly, leading to the capsize of the ship near Thottappally off the coast of Alappuzha, posing a threat to human life and property. The dangerous goods that spilled onto the sea from the ship, including hazardous plastics, led to severe environmental issues, affecting the fishing sector along the coast of Kerala. The fishermen and the allied sectors had to incur huge losses due to the incident, apart from the floating containers posing a threat to the vessels and ships navigating through the shipping channel and nearby area, the FIR said. The case was registered under Sections 282, 285, 286, 287, 288, and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Naya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, on charges including rash navigation of a vessel, obstruction in a public way or line of navigation, and negligent conduct with respect to poisonous substances and fire or combustibles.
The Hindu
11-06-2025
- General
- The Hindu
MSC Elsa 3 shipwreck: Threat of oil spill into sea lingers as new seepage detected
Though the underwater salvage operation of the container ship MSC Elsa 3 that sank off the Alappuzha coast on May 25 began on Monday (June 9), the threat of an oil spill into the sea from the ship still lingers off the coast of Kerala. The shipping owner Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) had roped in the Singapore-based T&T Salvage for the underwater salvage operation. The team that mobilised diving support vessel SEAMEC III and divers to carry out an air-diving operation sealed a leak from the sounding pipe of fuel oil tank 22 successfully using layered capping comprising plastic and polyester cloth. Separately, a loose cap on another sounding pipe was tightened by divers, effectively stopping a minor leak. However, a new case of seepage has been detected from either main engine lube oil tank 25 or 26. Now, the divers are preparing to carry out the sealing procedures, said the latest situation report released by the government agencies. The detection of minor seepage from one of the main lube oil tanks underlines the importance of continuing the sustained dive operations. As dive time per diver is limited to about 30 minutes, the scaling-up of diving personnel is necessary to meet the operational timeline amid an increasingly narrow weather window, said the report. Further, the oil removal from Elsa 3 and underwater recovery can essentially begin only after this ongoing diving operation. Onshore, container salvage continues with 56 containers delivered to the port and four more under active recovery. A survey is scheduled to verify the status of two containers previously visible near the Kollam stretch. Meanwhile, the volunteers continued beach clean-up exercises across Thiruvananthapuram and Kannyakumari.
