The Kerala government on Thursday, May 29, declared the recent wreckage of ship M/s ELSA 3 in the Arabian sea as a state-specific disaster. As per the government order, the decision was taken considering the potentially serious environmental, social, and economic impact of the ship wreckage.
Liberian-flagged vessel M/s ELSA 3, en route from Vizhinjam to Kochi, reported listing off the Kerala coast near Thottappally in Alappuzha district on May 24 and submerged due to flooding the next day. The vessel was carrying over 643 containers, some of which were listed ‘hazardous’. The capsize raised serious environmental concerns, including the potential for oil spill and drifting of debris along Kerala’s coastline.
Huge quantities of nurdles, (small plastic pellets), washed ashore along coastlines in Thiruvananthapuram district and some parts of Tamil Nadu in the last two days. Though nurdles are not inherently toxic, these pellets could pose a threat to marine ecosystems.
Disasters which are not included in the nationally notified list, if declared state-specific, will be eligible for assistance from the state disaster response fund (SDRF) or national disaster response fund (NDRF). This will allow the state to utilise funds, which are ideally used for mitigation purposes, for recovery and rehabilitation works.
Considering the rising threat to life and property, the Kerala government, in March 2024, had listed human-wildlife conflict as a state-specific disaster. The state had earlier notified coastal erosion, lightning, sun stroke/heat wave, soil piping etc as state-specific disasters to ease mobilisation of resources and for better coordination to reduce risks.
An accident like shipwreck has been listed as a state-specific disaster for the first time in the country.
The Indian Coast Guard and Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways have said that they have successfully contained a potential oil spill and have taken up removal of traces of oil as a priority task. The authorities announced a July 3 deadline for recovery of oil.
Though initial reports by the Coast Guard suggested the presence of hazardous containers, Port officials later said that there were 12 containers of calcium carbide and one container of polymers to process rubber. The authorities are yet to release details of the items and its quantities in the containers of the sunken ship.