Vizhinjam was a mistake waiting to happen

On an overcast May morning, the Arabian Sea did what warnings, protests and reports could not — it sent back to shore a few dozen battered shipping containers from among the hundreds lost when a cargo ship capsized off Kerala’s coast. The Liberian-flagged MSC ELSA 3, operated by Mediterranean Shipping Company, sank 38 nautical miles off the Kerala coast on May 25, 2025 with over 640 containers on board.

Some containers carried only cotton or glassware. But others? Hazardous substances. One of them was calcium carbide, a compound that reacts explosively with water. And inside the ship’s tanks were over 450 tonnes of fuel oil and diesel.

When the vessel sank, it released not just oil and cargo, but a wave of truth that can no longer be ignored.

The Vizhinjam Container Transshipment Port, a flagship project of both the Kerala Government and the Adani Group, has been hailed as India’s bold leap into global maritime power. However, that vision is now tarnished by oil spills, public anxiety and the undeniable evidence of ecological misadventure — all within three weeks of its dedication to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The fact that this region is ecologically fragile, climate-vulnerable and oceanographically risky was recognised long ago. Nonetheless, a massive transshipment port was imposed on its shores. And now, with this first disaster, the warnings of scientists, fishers and environmentalists have come ashore, both literally and metaphorically.

Eroding shores now grapple with pollution

Vizhinjam Port was hard-sold as India’s answer to Colombo and Singapore: a deep-sea port just 10 nautical miles from international shipping lanes, requiring no dredging due to its natural depth. With a projected capacity of 5 million TEUs and an investment of over Rs 18,000 crore, it was marketed as a strategic and economic masterstroke.

However, long before construction began, experts had called the site “an erosion-prone zone that violates the basic tenets of sustainable coastal development.”

Dr KV Thomas, former scientist at the National Centre for Earth Science Studies, described it as “an irresponsibly sited project” on a stretch of coastline that has experienced some of the worst erosion in the country.

Between 2016 and 2022, beaches north of the port, Shanghumukham, Valiyathura and Cheriyathura, began disappearing. In 2019 alone, over 170 families were displaced by sea incursion, many of them fisherfolk with nowhere to go.

This was not just an environmental tragedy but a textbook case of governance failure. Despite clear Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules and scientific evidence, both the Kerala Government and the Adani Group proceeded, dismissing any opposition as anti-development.

The Environmental Impact Assessment, conducted over a decade ago, grossly underestimated the region’s wave action and ignored concerns about coral reef destruction, declining fish catch and coastal erosion. It even failed to model worst-case oil spill scenarios — an omission that now appears negligent.

But the concerns don't stop there: The containers aboard MSC ELSA 3 included 13 hazardous cargo units and over 250 tonnes of calcium carbide.

For the uninitiated: Calcium carbide reacts violently with water, producing acetylene gas, which is highly flammable. Fortunately, no explosion occurred, but the threat was real. In addition, the ship's diesel and heavy furnace oil began leaking, resulting in a visible oil slick nearly 4 kilometres wide. Aerial images from the Indian Coast Guard showed floating containers scattered at sea, with some beached near Kollam, Alappuzha and even Thiruvananthapuram.

By the third day, over 30 containers had washed ashore, damaging seawalls and threatening homes. Residents were evacuated from some areas and authorities issued warnings not to touch the containers. Fisherfolk were advised to avoid beaches and not to fish in the affected waters.

Thiruvananthapuram’s shores are now also facing alarming plastic pellet pollution from ruptured containers spilling raw plastic feedstock into the surf. Fisherfolk and citizens’ groups have called for volunteers to join the cleanup before it contaminates marine life. Meanwhile, the Kerala State Pollution Control Board appears to have dismissed these concerns, stating the pellets are non-toxic.

Here lies a cruel irony: World Environment Day 2025, less than two weeks away, is themed “Ending Plastic Pollution”. On the Kerala coast, plastics are not just a theme. They are a choking reality.

Fishers saw this coming

Thiruvananthapuram’s fisherfolk have not been passive observers. They have been the most active — and yet ignored — stakeholders. A decade ago, during public hearings for the port, community elders asked a prophetic question: “What if a ship sinks? Who will save us?”

That fear is now reality. The coast will be off-limits to small-scale fishers for days — many already reeling from declining catch due to sea warming and sediment shifts. Their nets, boats and beaches are now potentially contaminated. Many fear their catch will become unsellable — either due to pollution or public perception.

In 2022, after hundreds were displaced by erosion and fish catch plummeted, fishers launched a 140-day protest in the capital. Led by the Latin Catholic Archdiocese, they demanded compensation, erosion control and recognition of their right to live and fish. The state’s response? Denial, criminalisation and vague promises.

Now, the same government faces a credibility crisis it can no longer deflect.

Climate signals ignored

This was never just about local ecosystems or fisher livelihoods. It was also about global climatic shifts that have made the Arabian Sea more volatile than ever.

According to Indian climate scientist Roxy Mathew Koll, the Arabian Sea has warmed by over 1.2 degrees Celsius, resulting in more intense cyclones and erratic wave patterns. Cyclone Ockhi in 2017, which took the lives of 270 fishermen, served as a brutal reminder of what cyclones in the Arabian Sea can inflict. It also damaged the partially built port and delayed construction. Yet, no attempt was made to re-evaluate the project’s risk.

So, what we’re seeing now isn’t just another incident of bad luck—it’s the outcome of a poorly planned, poorly located, poorly executed project in a deteriorating climate.

With rising sea levels, heavier monsoons and a growing risk of freak waves, ports like Vizhinjam must be evaluated for their vulnerability, not just their potential. The Vizhinjam Port project is nothing but an ambitious trophy scheme, with little consideration for local geography, changing climate conditions, or even economic rationale.

The accountability gap

So who takes responsibility?

The Adani Group, which operates the port, has remained mostly silent. Its grand declaration of building a “green port” seems hollow in the face of this toxic spill. The company’s previous denials about erosion and its impact on the community now resemble corporate gaslighting.

The Kerala Government, particularly Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, has hailed the port as a state-level achievement, specifically, his government’s. However, his refusal to pause construction during public protests, his failure to learn from Ockhi-like disasters and his administration’s failure to update climate risk assessments must be called into question.

Yes, it is true that the container ship was not directly under state control. But it had just departed Vizhinjam Port before capsizing and sinking in Kerala’s waters. Was it permitted to sail despite turbulent sea conditions and risky weather? Port authorities are responsible for shipping safety, weather alerts and emergency response. When a disaster happens this close to port limits, it reflects on the port and reveals a deeper vulnerability along our coasts.

Let us also not forget the bureaucracy that granted environmental clearance, ignoring multiple scientific submissions warning of erosion, wave impact and ecological fragility.

What must now be done

Kerala cannot afford to dismiss this as just another shipping accident. Nor should the government or the Adani Group be allowed to, because the consequences are unfolding not only at sea, but in people’s lives. It’s time to stop pretending that infrastructure can be imposed on nature without consequence.

Kerala is already a climate hotspot. Its coasts are eroding. Its monsoons are unpredictable. Its fish stocks are collapsing. In this context, Vizhinjam Port is not just a misfit — it is a monument to misplaced priorities.

We must urgently demand a judicial inquiry into the spill and its impact, along with a full-scale environmental and toxicological cleanup led transparently by independent scientists—not just the Coast Guard, fisherfolk, or corporate agencies. A time-bound compensation package must be ensured for fisherfolk, covering days lost at sea, polluted nets and equipment, and the loss of market trust that threatens Kerala’s seafood reputation. 

Free medical screening and long-term health surveillance should be provided to all affected coastal communities to monitor for chemical exposure or spill-related illnesses. An independent, transparent audit of all port safety protocols and climate vulnerability assessments is essential. 

There must also be criminal and civil accountability for any failure of due diligence by the port operator or shipping agencies. Most importantly, this crisis should prompt a reimagining of how Kerala defines “development”, placing people, the planet and future generations at the core.

In short, what’s needed now is climate justice and a course correction.

This was not an accident — it was a prediction come true. A real-life warning. If we continue to ignore our coastlines, communities and changing climate, the next spill could be even more devastating. And the cost, unbearable.

As the Arabian Sea and its people have long known, Vizhinjam isn’t a port—it’s a monumental mistake.

Sridhar Radhakrishnan is an environmental and social justice activist.

Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth