Three Indian Coast Guard ships deployed to tackle oil spill from capsizing of a ship off Kerala coast: Sonowal

New Delhi: Union Minister for Ports, Shipping & Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday said that following the capsizing of the cargo vessel MSC ELSA III off the Kerala coast near Kochi, the Indian Coast Guard deployed three capital ships — ICG Samarth, ICG Saksham, and ICG Vikram — as part of an urgent multi-agency effort to prevent a marine pollution disaster.

The Minister said all possible measures are being taken to protect the coastal environment from oil spills and any risks arising from the breached containers.

He held a detailed review meeting with the Director General (DG) Shipping, Secretary (Shipping), and other senior officials to assess the situation due to the capsizing of the Liberian cargo ship MSC ELSA III off the Kerala coast near Kochi.

“We are fully committed to ensuring the complete salvage of marine fuel and other hazardous materials being transported in 13 containers. All crew members have been safely evacuated with the assistance of the Indian Coast Guard,” he posted on X.

Three capital ships — ICG Samarth, ICG Saksham and ICG Vikram — have been deployed to the affected area. Additionally, the pollution response vessel Sagar Prahari departed from Mumbai and is en route to the site, the Minister said.

Regular aerial surveillance is being carried out using Dornier aircraft equipped with the MSS 6000 system to monitor any oil spillage, Sonowal added.

All four company representatives of MSC have arrived in Kochi and have been advised to visit both the Indian Coast Guard and the Mercantile Marine Department (MMD) offices. MSC has initiated tracking of all beached containers and is deploying personnel to secure them in place. Salvors have been engaged and have arrived in Kerala. T&T Salvage is now in Kochi to coordinate the salvage operations. Coordination for container retrieval is ongoing between the salvor’s expert team and the local administration, he said.

“We are continuously monitoring the situation through DG (Shipping), Indian Coast Guard, Kerala State Disaster Management Authority, MSC & the Salvage Team. All possible measures are being taken to ensure immediate action is taken to protect the coastal environment from oil spills and any risks arising from the breached containers,” the Minister said.