Latest news with #MSCELSA-3


Deccan Herald
a day ago
- General
- Deccan Herald
Remains of sunken ship off Kerala coast causing damage to fishing nets, boats
A Liberian flagged container ship, MSC ELSA-3, with hazardous cargo sank in the Arabian sea off the Kerala coast on May 24.
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Business Standard
22-06-2025
- General
- Business Standard
Kerala's fishing economy reels from back-to-back maritime disasters
Kerala's coastal communities are on edge after two major maritime accidents in the Arabian Sea within a short span, threatening not only fragile marine ecosystems but also the livelihoods of thousands who depend on them. The back-to-back incidents—first involving the MSC Elsa 3, followed by a fire aboard MV Wan Hai 503—have triggered bans on fishing, fears of contamination, and disruptions to the state's marine economy. According to Kerala Fisheries Statistics 2021, over one million people in the state depend directly or indirectly on fisheries, including more than 2.4 lakh active fishermen across 222 marine fishing villages. When did the incidents occur? The MSC ELSA-3, a Liberian-flagged container ship carrying 640 containers (including hazardous materials like calcium carbide), capsized and sank on May 25, about 38 nautical miles southwest of Kochi, off Kerala's coast. The MV Wan Hai 503, a Singapore-flagged container vessel, caught fire on June 9, roughly 78 nautical miles off Beypore, Kerala, following an under-deck explosion. After the MSC Elsa 3 shipwreck, authorities imposed an eight-day fishing ban within a 20-nautical-mile radius of the wreck site. The timing could not have been worse—it coincided with the onset of the monsoon season, typically a peak period for fish catch. In 2020-21, Kerala produced 6.15 lakh tonnes of fish and prawns, highlighting the scale of economic activity now at risk. The government's interim relief included ₹1,000 and 6 kg of rice per family, a measure many in the fishing community criticised as inadequate. 'June to September is when we earn the most. This amount doesn't even cover two days of work,' said a fisherman from the Alappuzha-Kollam region, highlighting how compensation fell below the daily minimum wage. Meanwhile, ongoing efforts to remove marine sediments from affected coastlines in Alappuzha, Kollam, and parts of Thiruvananthapuram have made uneven progress. Although communities have resumed fishing in some areas, fears of contamination persist. Environmental fears mount Experts say that while no mass fish deaths have been reported so far, the real danger may lie in delayed ecological impacts. 'If the water is not treated and sediments are not properly removed, this could lead to long-term consequences,' said a local fishing union representative. 'It's not just our community—this could affect people inland too, through the food chain and market supply.' Kollam, which usually lands around 35,000 tonnes of fish daily, has seen a steep drop in supply and demand alike. Several fish markets have reported little or no demand for days, as people are worried about possible contamination from hazardous cargo and oil spills. This has led to a direct loss of income for thousands of families who depend on fishing. According to Dr Sajeevan, professor at Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS), misinformation about contamination is already hurting fish sales. Many regular fish eaters are switching to alternatives like meat or avoiding fish from affected areas altogether, he said. Scientific teams deployed to assess impact The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has deployed teams to assess environmental and economic fallout. The Kerala State Pollution Control Board and the National Institute of Oceanography are also expected to conduct studies on water quality and ecological recovery. 'Proper scientific monitoring and treatment are essential to contain long-term damage,' Dr Sajeevan added. 'We may not be seeing marine organism deaths now, but that doesn't rule out contamination. The impact on spawning, migration, and species diversity could emerge over time.' The way forward While cleanup operations are underway, fishers and environmentalists alike are demanding stricter regulation of maritime traffic near coastal zones and faster relief mechanisms. Experts are also calling for a contingency plan to protect coastal economies from future maritime mishaps. 'The government must establish a coordinated response framework that includes emergency cleanup, livelihood protection, and scientific risk assessments,' said a CMFRI official. 'Kerala's marine economy cannot afford repeated shocks.' For now, coastal families wait anxiously—not just for fish to return to their nets, but for assurance that their waters, and their futures, remain safe.


Time of India
22-06-2025
- General
- Time of India
Fishers seek investigation and compensation
Kochi: The Kerala Fisheries Co-ordination Committee called for a comprehensive investigation into the two ship accidents that took place off Kerala's coastal waters in the last few weeks. Chairman of the committee, T N Prathapan, said compensation should be given for the huge loss to the fisheries sector. He mentioned that both accidents occurred in the Malabar upwelling region, one of the world's top five fishing centres, which supplies 90% of the world's oil sardines and 95% of India's mackerel. These fish are sensitive to even minor climate changes. "The sardines, which disappeared in 2012, have shown signs of returning since 2022, but they are still being caught in small quantities. Since April this year, good rains started and the sardines have been thriving on plankton. It is in this context that the ship accidents occurred," he said. The MSC ELSA-3 ship with mysterious origins sank near Thottappally, close to the unique phenomenon of the Chakarapattu near the Kollam Bank. Debris has torn the nets of many vessels. When the Express Pearl ship sank near Colombo port in Sri Lanka in 2021, the spread of its plastic nurdles had severe consequences. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Adidas Three Shorts With 60% Discount, Limited Stock Available Original Adidas Shop Now Undo Currently, with the water flow southward, nurdles are scattered up to Kanyakumari. When the flow reverses northward, the nurdles trapped in the rocks will spread throughout Kerala, the committee said in a statement. "The chemical waste that entered the waters must be removed urgently. Adequate compensation, not just a token amount, should be provided to the fishermen. Our demand to move the shipping lane 50 nautical miles away was rejected by the central govt, reducing it to just 50km, without addressing environmental concerns. Adequate compensation should be collected from the shipping company, as mandated by various international conventions. The court also stated that the shipping company, not the govt, should provide compensation," the committee.


Time of India
17-06-2025
- General
- Time of India
Exposing Systemic Flaws: The Sinking of MSC ELSA-3 and Its Lessons for Global Shipping, ET Infra
Advt Advt By , ETInfra On Saturday, May 24 around 1.30 p.m., container ship MSC ELSA-3 was just 38 nautical miles off the coast of Kochi when it developed a list or tilt to one side due to flooding in one of its holds, prompting a distress call from the ship's Captain Alexander Ivanov , a Russian call triggered panic among the authorities and as the news spread, the maritime and fishermen community feared the the 640 containers the ship carried (some of which had already fallen into the Arabian Sea due to the listing), 12 were loaded with calcium carbide, a hazardous chemical known for its violent reaction with water. In its tanks, the ship had 367.1 metric tonnes of very low sulphur fuel oil and 84.4 metric tonnes of oil/hazardous chemical spill would be disastrous for the environment and coastal communities apart from the expensive clean limited capacity to mount a coordinated emergency response and the absence of Tier 1 oil spill and salvage capacity in Indian ports such as Cochin, where the ship was headed, played on the minds of the authorities as the day wore on and the ship listed dangerously to Cochin Port Authority did not even have ocean going tugs or oil spill response units to assist the oil or chemical spill response equipment from abroad (nearest being Singapore and Bahrain) can take anywhere between 24 to72 hours, a delay that could prove the morning of Sunday, May 25, the ship capsized and sank in one of the biggest shipping disasters on the Indian the authorities scampered to get details of the ship to pin responsibility for the next course of action and check environmental hazards, they encountered, first-hand, what is regarded as one of the most opaque and under-regulated dimensions of global maritime commerce: the fragmented ownership, registration, management, and manning structures that define global shipping operations from being an anomaly or an isolated incident, the ship's convoluted configuration is emblematic of a deliberate design that prioritizes legal insulation over the 28-year-old container ship went down, it was flying the flag of Liberia - a classic Flag of Convenience ( FoC ) choice known for minimal regulatory intervention. A Flag of Convenience (FoC) or open registry is a business practice whereby a ship owner registers a vessel in the ship register of a country other than that of his own. The FoC regime does not levy any tax on ship owners but charge an annual amount based on the gross registered tonnage (GRT) of a ELSA-3's Liberian registry was only the beginning of a deeper maze. The vessel is owned by a German company, chartered on a slot-sharing basis by Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A., the world's biggest container line headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland and managed operationally by a firm based in Cyprus. The ship classification responsibilities were assigned to the French classification society Bureau Veritas (ship classification societies such as BV certifies a ship for its sea worthiness), while the ship was manned by a multinational crew comprising seafarers from Russia, Philippines, Ukraine, and other complex matrix of international ownership and management represents a microcosm of jurisdictional detachment that bedevils modern day implications of this web of opaque configuration are enormous. When the MSC ELSA-3 capsized and sank, it became virtually impossible to pin down a single point of liability or even a coherent chain of operational command. The flag state, Liberia, declined to participate in the investigation. The classification society that had certified the ship as seaworthy only months prior was not accountable for oversight failures. The German ship owner has maintained a legal distance through limited liability constructs. The manager in Cyprus held operational control, but not ultimate legal liability. MSC, the container shipping behemoth, claimed only a commercial interest through chartering of the fragmented control structure – typical of FoC regimes – obstructs clear liability and limits enforceability. The flag state's (Liberia) refusal, in writing, to participate in the post-incident investigation exemplifies the dilution of responsibility that FoC registration extreme fragmentation of responsibility is not accidental; it is engineered. It allows shipowners and charterers to dilute exposure to environmental damage claims, labour violations, tax liabilities, and safety lapses. In the case of MSC ELSA-3, this is further evidenced by the vessel's documented history of frequent name changes and ship registry shifts. From ' CSAV Barcelona ' to 'TMM Hidalgo' to ' Delmas Tourville ' to 'Jan Richter' to 'MSC ELSA-3', the ship had changed its identity at least ten times in less than two decades. Each change of name, flag, or manager coincided with opportunities to shed liability, evade scrutiny, or reposition under a more favourable regulatory practices, while not illegal, are at odds with the principles of transparency and responsibility embedded in the global maritime regulatory framework. The International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations agency that regulates global shipping, has long promoted uniform safety and environmental standards, but in reality, fragmented governance severely weakens container ship had a history of deficiencies, the most recent of which were detected at Tuticorin Port in a ship like MSC ELSA-3, legally registered in Liberia, owned by a German company, managed from Cyprus, classed with a French entity, operated from the Mediterranean, and manned by a multilingual crew, suffers a major casualty, coastal states like India are left to manage the colossal crisis involving a clean-up costing hundreds of crores with minimal issue is compounded by the lack of mandatory public disclosure on beneficial ownership, the actual role of commercial operators in daily navigation decisions, and the operational influence of ship managers. Even in cases where insurers such as the Protection and Indemnity (P&I) Clubs (third party liability underwriters) are involved, jurisdictional complications and multi-layered contracting structures delay compensation, investigation, and India is to protect its coast, trade routes, and maritime environment, it must challenge this structural opacity. Ships calling at Indian ports must be subjected to stricter requirements on transparency in ownership, crew composition, and management accountability. India must also push the IMO for reforms mandating full disclosure of beneficial ownership, enhanced flag state obligations, and clearer delineation of managerial versus operational control MSC ELSA-3 was not just a casualty of rough seas or human error. It was the predictable outcome of a system designed to divide responsibility to the point of disappearance. If left unchecked, this model will continue to shift the consequences of maritime failures onto states and communities least equipped to bear them. It is time for coastal nations to reclaim regulatory authority over ships that enter their waters, regardless of the paper trail they carry.


Economic Times
16-06-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Clear up the paper boat trail: Lessons from Kerala coast shipwreck
Too many hands on deck On May 24, MSC ELSA-3 was 38 nautical miles off the Kochi coast when it developed a list, or tilt to one side, prompting a distress call. Among the ship's 640 containers, 12 were loaded with calcium carbide, a hazardous chemical known for its violent reaction with water. It had 367.1 MT of low- sulphur fuel oil and 84.4 MT of diesel in its tanks. A day later, the ship capsized and sank in one of the biggest shipping disasters on the Indian limited capacity to mount a coordinated emergency response and the absence of tier-1 oil spill and salvage capacity in Indian ports such as Kochi, where the ship was headed, played on the minds of authorities. An oil/hazardous chemical spill would be disastrous for the environment and coastal communities, apart from the expensive clean-up. Even the state- owned Cochin Port Authority did not have ocean-going tugs or oil spill response units to assist the ship. As authorities scrambled to get details of the ship for the next course of action, they encountered an opaque and under-regulated dimension of global maritime commerce: the fragmented ownership, registration, management and manning structures that define global shipping operations today. Far from being an anomaly or an isolated incident, the ship's convoluted configuration is emblematic of a deliberate design prioritising legal insulation over the ship went down, it was flying Liberia's flag - a classic Flag of Convenience (FoC) choice known for minimal regulatory intervention. An FoC, or open registry, is a business practice whereby a shipowner registers a vessel in the ship register of a country other than their own. The FoC regime does not levy any tax on shipowners but charges an annual amount based on the ship's gross registered tonnage (GRT).MSC ELSA-3 is owned by a German company, chartered on a slot-sharing basis by Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A., headquartered in Geneva, and managed operationally by a firm based in Cyprus. The ship classification responsibilities were assigned to the French classification society Bureau Veritas, while a multinational crew manned the MSC ELSA-3 capsized and sank, it became impossible to pin down a single point of liability or even a coherent chain of operational command. Liberia declined to participate in the investigation. The classification society that had certified the ship as seaworthy was not accountable for oversight failures. The German shipowner has maintained a legal distance through limited liability constructs. The manager in Cyprus held operational control, but not ultimate legal liability. MSC, the container shipping behemoth, claimed only a commercial interest through the chartering of the fragmented control structure obstructs clear liability and limits enforceability. The flag state's refusal to participate in the post-incident investigation exemplifies the dilution of responsibility that FoC registration extreme fragmentation of responsibility is engineered. It allows shipowners and charterers to dilute exposure to environmental damage claims, labour violations, tax liabilities and safety the case of MSC ELSA-3, this is further evidenced by the vessel's documented history of frequent name changes and ship registry shifts. The ship had changed its identity at least 10 times in less than two decades - an opportunity to shed liability, evade scrutiny, or reposition under a more favourable regulatory practices, while not illegal, are at odds with the principles of transparency and responsibility embedded in the global maritime regulatory framework. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has promoted uniform safety and environmental standards, but fragmented governance severely weakens a ship like MSC ELSA-3 suffers a major casualty, coastal states like India are left to manage the colossal crisis, involving a clean-up costing hundreds of crores, with minimal issue is compounded by the lack of mandatory public disclosure on beneficial ownership, the actual role of commercial operators in daily navigation decisions, and the operational influence of ship managers. Even in cases where insurers such as the protection and indemnity (P&I) clubs (third-party liability underwriters for ships) are involved, jurisdictional complications and multilayered contracting structures delay compensation, investigation and India is to protect its coast, trade routes and maritime environment, it must challenge this structural opacity. Ships calling at Indian ports must be subjected to stricter requirements on transparency in ownership, crew composition and management accountability. India must also push the IMO for reforms mandating full disclosure of beneficial ownership, enhanced flag state obligations, and clearer delineation of managerial versus operational control left unchecked, this model will continue to shift the consequences of maritime failures onto states and communities least equipped to bear them. It is time for coastal nations to reclaim regulatory authority over ships that enter their waters, regardless of the paper trail they carry. Elevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea. Worrying cracks hiding behind MG Motor's own 'house of Windsor' Is India ready to hit the aspirational 8% growth mark? INR1,300 crore loans for INR100? Stamp duty notice to ArcelorMittal, banks. Why failed small businessmen die by suicide when those behind big blow-ups bounce back? 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