Liberian vessel carrying marine fuel lists off Kerala coast, spills cargo into sea.
Credit: PTI photo
Thiruvananthapuram: A cargo ship, MSC ELSA-3, met with an accident in the sea off Kerala coast on Saturday afternoon triggering panic as oil containers from the ship fell into the sea.
As per initial reports, the accident occurred around 38 nautical miles off the Kerala coast in the Arabian sea. Around ten containers from the Liberian flag carrier were suspected to have fallen into the sea after the ship tilted while proceeding to Kochi from Vizhinjam.
All the 24 crew members were reported to be rescued by the Indian Coast Guard and Navy. The ship is now said to be stable.
The containers were said to be containing marine gasoil and very low Sulfur fuel oil.
The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority sounded an alert that the Coast Guard had informed that containers with 'dangerous substance' fell into the Arabian sea and it could be washed ashore. The people are advised not to go near it or touch it.
According to a Defence release, the 184 metre long vessel -- MSC Elsa 3 -- departed for Kochi from the Vizhinjam port on Friday and at around 1.25 pm on May 24, the company owning the ship informed Indian authorities that it was listing by 26 degrees and sought urgent assistance.
The Coast Guard was coordinating rescue operations by maintaining ships and aircrafts near the distressed vessel and of the 24 crew onboard, nine were in liferafts. The 24-member crew of the vessel comprised one Russian, the Master, 20 Filipinos, two Ukrainians and one person from Georgia, the release said.
"Indian Coast Guard aircrafts (Dornier) have dropped additional liferafts near the vessel to facilitate further evacuation. DG Shipping, in coordination with Indian Coast Guard, has issued directives to the ship managers for providing urgent salvage services for the vessel," the release said.