Indian authorities declare emergency over hazardous cargo spill
Authorities in the Indian state of Kerala have declared a state of emergency after a vessel carrying oil and other hazardous materials capsized off the coast on Sunday. The incident has triggered fears of a major spill and environmental hazard.
The Liberian-flagged cargo ship MSC ELSA 3, carrying diesel, furnace oil, and containers with hazardous cargo, capsized near Kochi in southern part of India due to a load imbalance, local authorities stated on Sunday. All 24 crew members were rescued, officials added.
The vessel began tilting 38 nautical miles off the coast of Kochi on Saturday and capsized rapidly in the early hours of Sunday due to flooding in one of the holds, the coast guard said in a statement. The ship was carrying 84.44 metric tonnes of diesel, 367.1 metric tonnes of furnace oil, and 640 containers, including 13 containing hazardous cargo and 12 with calcium carbide, the coast guard noted.
All 24 crew members ex Liberian-flagged container Vessel MSC ELSA 3 rescued safely, 21 by @IndiaCoastGuard & 03 by @indiannavy Ship Sujata after vessel sank off #Kochi this morning. Vessel was carrying 640 containers, including 13 containing hazardous cargo and 12 with calcium… pic.twitter.com/990qmogVJR
— Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) May 25, 2025
The Kerala government declared a statewide emergency on Sunday amid fears that the oil slick could reach anywhere along the coast. Containers from the vessel were seen drifting in the sea at a speed of 3kph, the Indian Express reported.
@IndiaCoastGuard#MRCC, #Mumbai received a Distress Alert regarding Liberia-flagged container vessel MSC ELSA 3 developing 26° list approx 38 nautical miles southwest of #Kochi. Vessel departed #Vizhinjam Port on 23 May 25, bound for #Kochi with ETA 24 May 25. #ICG is actively… pic.twitter.com/U7SzOBsE9h
— Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) May 24, 2025
An unnamed defense spokesperson in Kochi quoted by the newspaper said that efforts are being made to mitigate the oil spill, with a coast guard ship and an aerial assessment of the situation being conducted. Besides the oil in the fallen containers, “marine fuel used in the ship has also leaked,” the Kerala chief minister’s office said in a statement, following a high-level meeting on Sunday.
According to simulation results from the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), cited by The Hindu newspaper, there is a 45% probability that many of the 640 containers from the sunken container ship are likely to drift towards the coastal stretch of Kerala within the next 48 hours. As a precautionary measure, the government has prohibited fishing in a 20-nautical-mile radius around the sunken ship, in addition to an existing ban on fishing due to heavy rain.
Officials have also activated the Search and Rescue Aid Tool (SARAT) to aid in the location of containers or other drifting objects.
