Oil Spill in Sea After Ship Sinks Off Kochi, Coast Guard on Mitigation Mode
Bengaluru: A day after a Liberian vessel containing hazardous cargo, among others, sank off Kochi in Kerala, empty containers are washing ashore along the state’s coast. By 11 a.m. on Monday (May 26), less than 24 hours after the vessel sank, at least 30 empty containers were reported to have washed ashore along the coast in Alappuzha and Kollam districts in the state.
An oil spill has occurred and the Indian Coast Guard is surveying it and taking appropriate action to mitigate the spill – which is currently limited to the area where the ship sank, 38 nautical miles off Kochi – Kerala’s defence public relations officer commander Atul Pillai told The Wire.
On the night of Sunday (May 25), the Kerala government issued an emergency alert for the coast in preparation for a potential oil spill because the vessel contained around 84 metric tons of diesel and 347 metric tons of furnace oil. The vessel also held containers filled with hazardous cargo as well as calcium carbide, a chemical used in the steel manufacturing.
With containers from the ship washing ashore open, concerns regarding an oil spill are real and warranted even though it may not be apparent on the shore immediately, fisheries scientists in Kerala told The Wire. Its impacts could also persist over the long term and a permanent monitoring system to study these would be crucial to implement adequate mitigation strategies in the years to come, they added.
Ship sinks off Kochi coast
Liberian cargo ship MSC ELSA 3 – bound from the port of Vizhinjam to Kochi in Kerala – began sinking on May 24 off Kochi, hours before it was to reach its destination after water entered one of its holds (storage area under the main deck of a ship).
@IndiaCoastGuard #MRCC, #Mumbai responded to a distress alert from the Liberia-flagged container ship MSC ELSA 3, which developed a 26° list approximately 38 nautical miles southwest of #Kochi.
The vessel had departed #Vizhinjam Port on 23 May 25 and was en route to #Kochi, with… pic.twitter.com/m4OhGxAkk6— PRO Defence Kochi (@DefencePROkochi) May 24, 2025
The vessel contained 640 containers which apart from general cargo, also held hazardous cargo. It contained 84.4 metric tons of diesel and 367.1 metric tons of furnace oil. Twelve containers held calcium carbide, a chemical used in the manufacturing of steel, while 13 other containers held “hazardous cargo” – information about which is still not available.
The Indian Coast Guard had on May 24 rescued 21 members of the crew on board the vessel. The captain of the ship and two engineers stayed back on ship till the morning of May 25 but they were forced to abandon it as the vessel sank.
By around 7.50 a.m. May 25, the vessel had completely sunk into the sea and its containers were afloat. A vessel of the Indian Navy rescued the three on Sunday in a dangerous operation as the containers already floating in the area posed a danger to the Navy ship as well, commander Pillai told The Wire.
As of 11 a.m. on May 26, around 30 empty containers were reported to have washed ashore along the coast in Kollam and Alappuzha districts. Thermocol pieces have also washed ashore, local television news reports said. Packed boxes that leaked out of the containers also drifted to the shore along the coasts of Alappuzha district on Monday morning, per these reports.
Authorities have implemented restrictions along the shore in some of these areas, in an effort to prevent people from approaching the shore and coming in contact with the cargo.
On the night of May 25, the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority declared an emergency alert along the coast as authorities feared that the chemicals within the containers on board the vessel may have spilled into the sea. It also cautioned the public not to approach containers so that people do not come in contact with the potentially dangerous chemicals.
Coast Guard tackling oil spill
Though there was no oil spill reported initially, the Indian Coast Guard has now observed an oil spill in the area where the vessel sank – around 38 nautical miles off the Kochi coast – Pillai confirmed to The Wire.
On May 25, the Indian Coast Guard said that it had “activated full pollution response”.
Apart from aerial surveillance, the Coast Guard has also deployed three vessels in the area in a “pollution response configuration”. These vessels are utilising infra-red cameras to detect the oil spill area and using OSD – Oil Spill Dispersant – to contain the spread of oil, Pillai told The Wire.
#Update
➡️ 03 ICG vessels #Vikram, #Saksham, and #Samarth are deployed in the area in Pollution Response configuration. These vessels utilised IR cameras to detect the oil spill area and utilised OSD (Oil Spill Desperant) to contain the spread of oil.
➡️ An #ICG Dornier aircraft… https://t.co/Z7szJO6DBE pic.twitter.com/deKTpGYvc4— PRO Defence Kochi (@DefencePROkochi) May 26, 2025
However, the extent of the oil spill is still unknown. The Coast Guard is constantly monitoring the situation and had deployed its Dornier aircraft on the morning of May 26 to examine the extent of the oil spill. However due to the active monsoon – which meant rough seas and low visibility – this was not possible, Pillai said. He added that the aircraft would be pressed into action on Monday afternoon too.
Additionally, a dedicated pollution control vessel named “Samudra Prahari” is also enroute from Mumbai in Maharashtra to Kochi to aid with the pollution control actions, Pillai added.
‘Impacts will last for years’
With containers from the ship washing ashore open, concerns regarding an oil spill are real and warranted even though it may not be apparent on the shore immediately, fisheries scientist Biju Kumar A. told The Wire.
“Both the low-sulphur furnace oil and diesel contain aromatic hydrocarbons,” Kumar, senior professor at the University of Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram told The Wire.
Plankton – tiny, often microscopic plants and animals that many marine species including small fish and giant whales consume as food – can absorb these hydrocarbons. Additionally, upon contact with water, these hydrocarbons would form paraffin, a waxy substance which can accumulate in the form of tar balls in the ocean, he added.
There are dangers of fish ingesting these tar balls; through them, and through affected plankton, the chemicals could circulate up the food chain and ultimately affect the entire food web – including people – Kumar said.
More worrying are the long-term impacts of the oil spill, he said.
The impact of the oil spill could also persist over the long term because aromatic hydrocarbons persist in water for even 20 years after oil spills, Kumar said. He added that a permanent monitoring system to study these impacts would be crucial to implement adequate mitigation strategies in the years to come.
Another concern is the unknown ‘hazardous substance’ that 13 of the containers on the ship contained, Kumar pointed out.
“The shipping company has not yet revealed what this is,” he commented. “Only once we know what it is can authorities take appropriate measures for mitigation.”
The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
