Kerala battles to contain oil spill, coastal areas on alert

A merchant ship that sank some 27 km off the Kerala coast has caused oil slick near the coast of the southern state even as its containers have started washing ashore.

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So far, nine containers have washed ashore and have been found along the coasts of southern Kollam and coastal Alappuzha districts, prompting the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) to issue an advisory for coastal residents and fishermen to remain alert. A high-level meeting was also convened by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to assess the situation.

Hazardous goods in containers

The oil spill has sparked a statewide alert as fuel is drifting at a speed of around 3 km/hour and could soon impact the ecologically sensitive Kerala coastline.

Officials said of the 643 containers on the Liberian ship that sank 27 km off the Kerala coast, 13 contain hazardous goods, including calcium carbide, a chemical that reacts violently with water

The Liberian flagged vessel, MV MSC ELSA 3, sank around 8 am on Sunday around 15 nautical miles (27 km) off the coast of Kerala, southwest of Alappuzha.

The Indian Coast Guard's (ICG) surveillance aircraft detected the presence of an oil slick at the site. In response, ICG Ship Saksham, already on standby in pollution response (PR) configuration, was immediately deployed to begin counter-pollution operations.

Another areal assessment was done by an ICG Dornier aircraft. The plane also dispersed ‘oil spill dispersant’ across a wide area. This can contain the oil-slick within an area and stop it from spreading and harming marine life.

The oil slick is moving towards the coast. The prevailing rough sea weather conditions have caused navigation dangerous as the waters are littered with floating containers of the sunken ship, the Coast Guard said.

The oil spill was assessed to have spread over an area of approximately 2x1 nautical miles. More than 100 containers were observed floating near the site, with some breaking apart and their contents scattered in adjacent waters.

The Directorate General of Shipping on Sunday tasked the managers of the sunken ship to get done a clean-up, including container and cargo retrieval and oil removal from the wreck. The Mercantile Marine Department (MMD), Kochi, has issued a warning to the vessel’s owners regarding pollution liability.

The ICG has also advised the state administration to prepare for shoreline clean-up operations and to caution local communities against handling any debris or cargo that may wash ashore.

The Coast Guard has stationed its ships at site for ongoing monitoring, assessment, and pollution response.