The sinking of the Liberian-flagged container ship, MSC ELSA 3, off the Kochi coast in Kerala indicates violation of the Biodiversity Act, 2002; Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Environment Protection Act, 1986, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) said on May 27, 2025.
The tribunal directed that notice be issued to the Kerala Pollution Control Board; Lakshadweep Pollution Control Committee; Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB); Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC); Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Indian Coast Guards and National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS). The NGT directed the respondents to file their reply one week before the next date of hearing on July 30, 2025.
The original application was registered suo motu on the basis of a news item titled Containers from sunken ship likely to drift towards Alappuzha, Kollam Coasts in 48 hours: INCOIS that appeared in The Hindu on May 25, 2025.
It related to MSC ELSA 3, which sank off the Kochi Coast on May 25, 2025, drifting towards the entire coastal stretch of Alappuzha district and parts of Kollam. The ship was carrying 640 containers, including 13 with hazardous cargo and 12 containing calcium carbide.
INCOIS is monitoring the impacts, the news item noted. Alappad, Purakkad and Chappakkadavu in Alappuzha, as well as Vellanathuruthu, Kovilthottam and Maruthadi along the Kollam coast, have a 25 per cent chance of being affected, according to the initial study. The ship was also carrying 84.44 MT of diesel and 367.1 MT of furnace oil, according to a communication issued by the Union Ministry of Defence.
The NGT on May 27, 2025, directed Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) among others to file their response on the matter of poor handling of fly ash by Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power Plant in Hisar district’s Khedar. The court will next hear the case on September 28, 2025.