MSC Elsa 3

The incident

On 24 May 2025, at around 1:00 pm (local time), the Liberian-registered container ship MSC Elsa 3, having departed from the port of Vizhinjam and en route to the port of Kochi (Kerala, India), sent out a distress call as it was listing 26 degrees to starboard approximately 38 nautical miles (70 km) south-west of Kochi. At 3:15 pm, the vessel remained afloat despite its list increasing to 30 degrees, before stabilising at 22 degrees.

According to the cargo manifest, there were 643 containers on board containing various goods, some of which are classified as dangerous under the IMDG Code. The cargo transported included calcium carbide (which is highly flammable when in contact with water), plastic pellets, wood, cotton, nuts, spinning machines as well as 73 empty containers. The vessel was also carrying 84.44 tonnes of diesel and 367.1 tonnes of fuel oil.

On 25 May, at around 7:50 am (local time), the ship capsized and sank. The wreck of the MSC Elsa 3 was located 13 nautical miles (24 km) off the coast of Kerala.

On 29 May, the incident was declared a “State-specific disaster” by the Government of Kerala. This decision was based on the environmental, economic and social risks posed by the MSC Elsa 3. The Government of Kerala set up a State-level committee and a District-level committee to oversee clean-up operations and assess the impact of the pollution on the shoreline.

Aerial observation and response at sea

On 25 May, the Indian Coast Guard’s (ICG) Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre (MRSC) deployed a Dornier 228 plane for an aerial survey, from which two life rafts carrying survivors were spotted. ICG patrol vessels, along with the cargo ships MV Han Yi and MSC Silver 2, were diverted to contribute to the search and rescue operations for the 24 crew members.

Late morning on 25 May, an oil slick was spotted from surveillance planes and was drifting east-south-east from the incident location. On 1 June, satellite images showed a 9.3 km-long slick.

On 26 May, the ICG vessel Saksham, which was already on alert, was deployed, along with the vessels Vikram and Samarth, which were equipped with infrared cameras to assess the extent of the oil slick, even at night. The Dornier 228 aircraft continued to carry out aerial surveys and sprayed dispersant onto the slick. On 1 June, nearly 200 litres of dispersant were sprayed. No oil was observed on the shoreline.

Despite the rough seas, strong winds and the presence of more than 100 containers fallen overboard – all of which complicated response operations – the ICG pursued its efforts. As a precautionary measure, vessels passing through the area were diverted due to the presence of containers and floating debris. On 30 May, the authorities established an exclusion zone around the wreck. The initially defined 500-metre exclusion zone was extended to a 1-kilometre no-fishing and no-sailing zone.

The Mercantile Marine Department (MMD), Kochi issued a pollution liability warning to the vessel owners, in compliance with the 1958 Merchant Shipping Act. The vessel owners appointed T&T Salvage, based in Singapore, for container recovery, oil removal, and environmental clean-up operations. Offshore support vessels were mobilised. Three teams were also been dispatched to the coasts of Alleppey, Kollam and Trivandrum – the main districts where the containers washed ashore – to assist with the recovery efforts. Furthermore, the ICG also advised the Kerala state administration to prepare for shoreline clean-up and to alert local communities not to handle any cargo or debris that may wash ashore.

On 30 May, the tug Ocean Pioneer recorded the exact geographical coordinates of the wreck, as well as its depth (between 33 and 51 metres). From 5 June, the tug Water Lily also carried out a bathymetric survey within a radius of 1 nautical mile around the wreck. This technique aimed to identify and locate debris and containers in the area. The data collected is currently being analysed.

The owner of the MSC Elsa 3 and T&T Salvage deployed the support vessel SEAMEC III, which was expected to arrive near the wreck to begin fuel recovery operations on 9 June. The SEAMEC III was equipped with a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) and a team of twelve divers to carry out these operations. Initially, the divers located the breaches in the fuel tanks to cap them and prevent any further leakage. Secondly, they removed the remaining fuel oil by hot tapping.

On 9 June, the oil slick was approximately 2.3 km long.

On 11 June, the state of Kerala authorities issued a warning to speed up and finalise the oil recovery operations, which had originally been scheduled for 5 June, given the narrowing operational window due to approaching monsoon conditions. The vessel’s owner was given a final 48-hour ultimatum to begin clean-up operations around the wreck.

On 19 June, the tug Nand Saarthi reported a patch of sheen, 50 metres wide and 1 km in length, near to the wreck, which was dissipating naturally. This sheen was caused by intermittent leaks of oil and was likely to be from the engine spaces or machinery areas, rather than from a leak from the fuel tanks.

On 30 June, the tug Canara Megh was deployed to perform 24/7 guard and response duties at the wreck site. Reports on the situation were relayed every 6 hours. No other sheen or floating debris were reported.

On 4 August, the support vessel DSV Southern Nova was deployed to carry out operations to extract residual fuel oil from the wreck. Due to adverse weather conditions, the loading of personnel and equipment was delayed, meaning that removal operations did not begin until 9 August.

On 5 August, a new patch of sheen was observed 1.5 nautical miles from the wreck, probably caused by a leak from the engine room, prompting increased monitoring of the wreck. On 8 August, an empty container drifting at sea was spotted and recovered by the Canara Megha, before being taken to the port of Kollam.

Drift forecasting and modelling 

As soon as the MSC Elsa 3 sank, the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) activated its Search and Rescue Aid Tool (SARAT), designed to assist maritime authorities in modelling the drift of containers or other floating objects. According to the modelling results, 96 hours after the incident, there was an 80% probability of more containers or other debris reaching the coast, particularly in the districts of Alappuzha, Kollam and Trivandrum.

The SARAT tool was also used to model the drift of 100 tonnes of plastic pellets. The simulation showed them drifting south-east from the initial spill site and reaching the Kollam coast within the first 15 hours, from 26 May onwards. On 27 May, at 3 pm, their modelled trajectory continued in an east-south-easterly direction, where they were forecast to reach the Trivandrum coast. It was forecast that on 28 May, at 3 pm, the pellets would continue to wash up along this coastline, affecting approximately 83 nautical miles of shoreline. By 3 pm on 29 May, the affected area was forecast to have expanded slightly, reaching approximately 84 nautical miles, expanding towards Kovalam. 

Plastic pellets on the shoreline

From 24 May, the owners of the MSC Elsa 3 reported the loss at sea of between 40 and 45 containers which, they stated, did not contain any dangerous goods.

On 26 May, at around 4 am, of the 100 containers ultimately estimated to have fallen overboard, 30 had washed up along the shoreline (over a stretch of approximately 120 km):

• 29 in the Kollam district,
• 1 in the Alappuzha district.

On 27 May, a further 12 containers were found washed up on the Kollam coastline and 4 in the Trivandrum district. Meanwhile, the first reports of plastic pellets on the shoreline came in, with 15 to 20 bags found along the shores of Varkala, in the Trivandrum district. Manual shoreline clean-up operations were immediately organised, by a hundred or so volunteers, to mitigate the impact on the environment.

On 28 May, operations to recover containers that were adrift and beached on the shoreline involved 146 people, while plastic pellet clean-up operations on the coasts of Trivandrum and Kanyakumari continued, in close collaboration with the Marine Emergency Response Services (MERC), local authorities and the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority.

On 5 June, drone surveys carried out by the Tamil Nadu State Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) across 42 coastal villages in the state of Tamil Nadu revealed the presence of plastic pellets along the coastline of 33 of these villages, spanning approximately 37.5 km.

On 6 June, multiple containers that were recorded as “under deck” in the manifest were found onshore, raising questions about initial stowage accuracy.

On 8 June, the Kerala State government issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) to standardise the deployment of volunteers trained in coastal clean-up by NGOs and the civil defence service.

On 11 June, 200 volunteers were mobilised to recover plastic pellets along the Trivandrum shoreline. Since 27 May, nearly 1,600 volunteers have been involved in this operation in Kanyakumari, recovering an average of 2.5 kg of plastic pellets per day.

The number of containers washed up on the shore continued to rise, reaching 61 on 15 June in the districts of Kollam, Alappuzha and Trivandrum, confirming the drift forecasts. They were collected and transferred to Kollam Port by MERC teams; a further four containers were awaiting recovery.

On 17 June, between 65 and 75 tonnes of plastic pellets were recovered from the coasts of Kanyakumari, Trivandrum and Rameshwaram and were stored in Trivandrum, pending a final decision on their disposal.

On 19 June, the plastic pellets collected from the shoreline and packed into around 450 bags were transported by lorry to a designated warehouse at Kollam Port to be treated.

On 25 June, at around 1:15 pm (local time),  the offshore fishing vessel Ann Mary reported floating pellet bags drifting towards the coastline. 64 intact pellet bags were recovered by the MERC salvage team, followed by a further 105 bags near the coasts of Alappuzha.

On 27 June, a total of 790 bags of plastic pellets recovered from the shoreline (weighing 14,032 tonnes) were transported from Veli Beach to the warehouse at Kollam Port.

On 30 June, plastic pellet recovery operations continued, particularly in the districts of Trivandrum and Kollam.

By 2 July, an estimated total of 350 tonnes of plastic pellets had been recovered in the districts of Kollam and Trivandrum, 200 tonnes in Rameshwaram and 50 tonnes in Kanyakumari.

On 18 July, plastic pellet recovery operations on the shoreline were concluded in Kollam, Kanyakumari and Rameshwaram, but continued at other sites. In total, more than 540 tonnes of plastic pellets were collected from the beaches in the districts of Trivandrum, Kanyakumari, Rameshwaram and Kollam, with 258 tonnes were transported to the Kollam Port warehouse for temporary storage. Plastic pellet recovery operations involved 486 volunteers and 581 MERC members at the Trivandrum site alone.  

On 8 August, 600 volunteers continued to be engaged in clean-up efforts, with the cumulative recovery estimated to be in the range of 629–639 tonnes.

On 13 November, clam fishermen discovered debris near Ashoka Beach in Kovalam. A two-day underwater search by a team of divers from Friends of Marine Life and Scuba Cochin confirmed that this debris was from a container from the MSC Elsa 3. The debris was partially buried in sand and trapped among underwater rocks.

Impact of the spill

From 25 July to 21 August, the CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography (CSIR-NIO) conducted a survey at sea to assess the environmental impact following the sinking of the MSC Elsa 3. Initial findings indicated that the oil slick had broken up into fragments and that floating oil was drifting towards coastal areas, driven by the waves.

The Kerala government entrusted the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) to engage the CSIR-NIO to carry out a long-term study to assess the extent of environmental damage caused by the MSC Elsa 3; to draw up a restoration plan; review the existing framework in terms of maritime regulations, emergency response and liability, with total funding of 100 million rupees (approximately €970,000). The results of this study are expected by 30 July 2026.

Liability and compensation

On 28 May, the State President of the fishing union Kerala Matsya Thozhilali Aikya Vedi alleged that the MSC Elsa 3 could have been deliberately sunk. The 28-year-old vessel had a history of port state control deficiencies during the previous three years. On 2 June, the Director General of Shipping stated that the sinking was caused by a mechanical failure of the ballast management system, which led to the ship listing and subsequently sinking.

On 3 June, the Kerala State Government granted financial assistance totalling 105.5 million rupees to support 78,498 fishermen families and 27,020 families employed in allied sectors, in the districts of Trivandrum, Kollam, Alappuzha and Ernakulam, which were particularly affected by the accident. Each family was granted 1,000 rupees and 6 kg of rice, funded through the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF). Representatives of these communities, however, considered this support to be insufficient.

On 11 June, following a complaint filed by a fisherman from the Alappuzha district, the Kerala Police registered a case against the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and the ship master of the MSC Elsa 3. According to the first information report from the Fort Kochi coastal police station, the ship was handled by the crew recklessly, posing a threat to the environment and local communities.

The Kerala state government, despite political pressure, expressed reservations about pursuing charges, arguing that it lacked legal authority to initiate maritime claims as the incident occurred beyond its jurisdiction, which extends 12 nautical miles (22 km) from the coast. The MSC Elsa 3 sank 14.6 nautical miles (27 km) from the coast. As an alternative, it planned to claim compensation from the shipping company and the insurance company of the MSC Elsa 3. To this end, the Kerala Government set up a committee to negotiate with MSC, tasked with assessing compensation for the damage caused by the sinking of the MSC Elsa 3, in particular for the restoration of marine and coastal environments, the financial losses suffered by fishermen, and wreck removal.

On 19 June, the High Court of Kerala stayed the ongoing negotiation process between the state government and MSC due to concerns over the transparency of these negotiations. The court questioned the appropriateness of these out-of-court negotiations, particularly when a legal course of action under the Admiralty Act was still open. This interim order was passed on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by former MP T.N. Prathapan, who highlighted the ecological and economic impacts of the shipwreck on the environment and fishermen.

On 8 July, the Kerala state government filed a compensation claim against MSC for the sinking of the MSC Elsa 3.  The total amount claimed was $1.1 billion, including $1 billion for pollution damage, $44.1 million for environmental restoration, and $61.5 million for economic losses suffered by fishermen and coastal communities. As security for the claim, the Kerala High Court ordered the detention of the MSC Akiteta II in Vizhinjam port. MSC disputed the scale of the damages claimed by the Kerala government and refused to post a bond. MSC’s lawyers filed a suit to limit the company’s liability at $14.8 million, arguing that the wreck lay outside the state’s jurisdiction and that the amounts claimed were ‘unrealistic’. They asked the court to combine all the claims into a single case. On 15 August, the Kerala High Court continued to detain the MSC Akieta II. A hearing was scheduled for 21 August.

On 25 September, the Kerala High Court reduced the security amount for the MSC Akiteta II to around $140 million. The court reserved the right for the state to file additional documentation on its claims to increase the bond or to arrest other MSC vessels in the future.