Containers drift ashore from sunken ship
Credit: PTI Photo
Thiruvananthapuram: Several containers from the Liberian cargo ship MSC ELSA3 have washed ashore with contents like tea powder and dress materials.
A high alert is being maintained along the entire Kerala coast owing to oil spillage from the cargo ship as well as presence of highly flammable Calcium carbide in as many as 13 containers.
According to a statement from the Kerala government, as many as nine containers were washed ashore till Monday morning in Kollam and Alappuzha. In Kollam four containers were washed ashore near Sakthikulnagara harbor, three near Chavara and one at Cheriazheekal. One container was washed ashore at Trikkunnapuzha in Alappuzha district.
While many containers were found empty, some were reported to be containing dress materials, tea powder from China and toughened glasses. There are concerns whether hazardous materials from containers got mixed in the sea as many containers were found open. A rescue boat was also reported to be washed ashore.
There were 643 containers on board, of which 73 were empty and 13 were carrying hazardous and dangerous goods. The ship was also having 84.44 metric tonnes of diesel and 367.1 metric tonnes of furnace oil in its tanks.
Various agencies including the Indian Coast Guard, Navy, customs and the National Disaster Response Force are involved in efforts to remove the oil and containers from the sea.
A high level meeting chaired by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan reviewed the situations and urged the people to stay away from the containers and any suspicious objects spotted on the coastal areas and the sea. Fishing from Kerala coast has been already banned owing to the rough weather.
The incident comes under tier-two incident category. Hence central agencies are engaged in the rescue and salvage operations, said a statement from the chief minister's office.