NGT Registers Case on Cargo Ship with 'Hazardous' Content That Sank Off Kerala Coast
New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has taken suo motu cognisance of the sinking of a Liberian cargo vessel – carrying oil and hazardous substances among others – off the coast of Kerala last month. In an order dated May 27, 2025, the apex green court noted that this has led to the violation of environmental norms including the country’s Biological Diversity Act (2002). It has asked authorities including the Kerala and Central Pollution Control Boards to file reports on this by July 23.
On May 25, Liberian cargo ship MSC ELSA 3 – bound from Vizhinjam Port near Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi in Ernakulam district in Kerala – sank about 38 nautical miles off the Kochi coast. The Indian Coast Guard, as well as a ship of the Indian Navy, rescued all 24 members of the crew. The ship was carrying 640 containers in total, which, along with general cargo also contained around 347 metric tons of furnace oil and 84 metric tons of diesel.
Twelve of its containers held calcium carbide, a chemical used in the manufacturing of steel. Another 13 containers contained an unknown “hazardous” cargo, information about which was not divulged by the shipping company. Fisheries scientist Biju Kumar A., senior professor at the University of Kerala, had told The Wire on May 26 that the unknown nature of the hazardous cargo in the 13 containers is a concern because mitigation measures can be taken only once its contents are known.
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The ship owner MSC is “expected to clarify on the contents of the hazardous cargo in the 13 containers”, the NGT’s principal bench in New Delhi said in its order on May 27. It took cognisance of the issue based on a media report in The Hindu dated May 25, that said that containers from the sunken ship were likely to drift towards the coast along the districts of Alappuzha and Kollam in Kerala.
The tribunal also noted that wave and wind action could result in the hazardous substances traveling to other parts of the country, including the Lakshadweep islands.
“Since the sunken ship is carrying hazardous materials like calcium carbide, oil and other undisclosed items, there are chances of serious impact to the marine and coastal environment affecting the biodiversity and water quality of the area…The impact on the Lakshadweep Island will be severe as the Insland (sic) coastal water has high biodiversity with corals,” the tribunal noted.
It also noted that as per The Hindu’s report, the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) is monitoring the impacts and that an initial study listed three areas (Alappad, Purakkad and Chappakkadavu) in Alappuzha district and three areas (Vellanathuruthu, Kovilthottam and Maruthadi) in Kollam district having a “25% chance of being affected”.
This indicates the violation of three environmental legislations, the Biological Diversity Act (2002), the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and the Environment Protection Act (1986), the NGT principal bench, consisting of Justice Prakash Srivastava and expert member A. Senthil Vel, said.
It issued notices to the Kerala Pollution Control Board, the Central Pollution Control Board, the Lakshadweep Pollution Control Committee, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, the Indian Coast Guard, and the INCOIS to file their replies on the issue a week before the next hearing of the case.
The next hearing has been scheduled for July 30.
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