The recent capsize of a cargo vessel off the Kerala coast has put an already fragile marine ecosystem under threat. In a press meet held in Kochi on Wednesday, May 28, Port officials clarified that no oil spill has occurred in connection with the capsizing of MSC ELSA3. The officials said that oil recovery, retrieval of drifting containers and removal of beached containers have been taken as priority tasks.
While the authorities have denied reports of oil spill, the potential impact of pollutants, from oils to nurdles, is still unclear. Coastal communities have expressed concerns after huge quantities of plastic pellets started floating ashore two days after the shipwreck.
The Liberian-flagged container vessel MSC ELSA 3, en route from Vizhinjam to Kochi, sank off the coast of Alappuzha on May 25. The vessel was carrying 640 containers, including ‘hazardous cargo’, according to the Coast Guard.
The vessel also had 84.44 metric tonnes of diesel and 367.1 metric tonnes of furnace oil in its tanks. Though the vessel has completely submerged, authorities have dismissed the possibility of the oil spill.
Addressing a press conference, Capt Abul Kalam Azad, Nautical Advisor to the Union Government, said that oil recovery, retrieval of drifting containers and removal of beached containers will be the priority tasks. He said that July 3 was the deadline for oil recovery. Azad told the media that of the 13 containers, 12 contained calcium carbide and one had chemicals to process rubber.
Azad said that 108 personnel were working onshore for container recovery and cleanup. "Thirty-eight people have been deployed in Thiruvananthapuram, Alappuzha, and Kollam, linked directly to DDMA (District Disaster Management Authority). District Collectors are actively coordinating response efforts. Fifty containers have been traced across seven sites. Efforts are underway to retrieve them within two days," he added.
As per an update by the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) on May 26, 30 tonnes of cargo have been floating in the sea, while 45 tonnes have reached the shore. Around 25 tonnes of cargo have either evaporated or dispersed. It said that, based on simulation results, the oil spill is likely to impact a coastline spreading around 23 nautical miles off Alappuzha. However, this entire information is missing in an updated statement released on Tuesday, May 27. Though INCOIS said that it would issue periodic advisories on oil spills, the bulletin has mentioned only plastic pollutants and other debris.
On Tuesday, the Coast Guard issued a tweet saying that Kerala's coastline was unaffected by the oil spill till then. It said that the Coast Guard launched a swift and robust response using their offshore vessel, Saksham, for the removal of pollutants and a Dornier aircraft for aerial surveillance. “Situation under control & closely monitored. Current updates confirm that Kerala's coastline remains unaffected by the oil spill till now. Cleanup underway with M/s MSC, T&T Salvage & authorities," it said in a tweet on the evening of May 27.
Apart from the concerns of oil spill, a few containers from the sunken ship that washed ashore on Tuesday have brought chemicals, nurdles and other pollutants to the coast.
What are nurdles?
Nurdles are small plastic resin pellets used as raw materials for the manufacturing of plastic products. As per the initial alert issued by INCOIS, nurdles could be drifting towards the Thiruvananthapuram coast following the capsize of MSC ELSA3. On Tuesday, containers which washed ashore were found to have deposited large quantities of nurdles, in pellet form, on several beaches in the Thiruvananthapuram district, including Thumba and Kochuveli. INCOIS predicted that nurdles will spread to coastal stretches of around 84 nautical miles off Kovalam by May 29.
The International Maritime Organisation, a UN agency responsible for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution, had issued a set of instructions for the safe transport of plastic pellets after a container ship – X-Press Pearl – caught fire off the coast of Sri Lanka in February 2021. Following the fire and subsequent sinking of the X-Press Pearl, several tonnes of pellets washed ashore, causing environmental issues.
According to IMO, nurdles can harm living resources and marine life and can interfere with other legitimate uses of the sea, such as fishing and aquaculture.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in a press statement issued on May 27, said a civil defence team would remove the plastic deposited on the coastal regions of Thiruvananthapuram district. The CM said that there was no need for concern and the waste would be cleared immediately. A meeting was convened by Chief Secretary A Jayathilak on the evening of May 27, where he directed district collectors to convey information to the government through a single point of contact.
Kerala Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian said that most media reports around the shipwreck were baseless and there was no need for any concerns. He said that directions were given to officials to check the quality of fish off Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha and Kochi coastlines and give an urgent report.
‘Provide accurate information’
The Kerala Swatantra Matsya Thozhilali Federation, a trade union of small-scale artisanal fishers, demanded that the state Port Authority provide details of the contents in the container. “When there are reports causing concerns among fishermen and coastal communities, the Customs and the Ports Authority have the responsibility to give accurate information,” it said, adding that the delay in issuing a detailed report was suspicious as the port authorities were well aware of the contents imported and exported from their jurisdiction.
Dr Shaju SS, assistant professor at the Department of Chemical Oceanography at Cochin University of Science and Technology, said that a mass fish kill as a result of the sinking of the cargo vessel was unlikely. However, bioaccumulation and biomagnification of pollutants in marine life could have long-term health hazards.
"One issue of oil spilling is that it acts as a layer, preventing diffusion of atmospheric oxygen in that area, and thus impacting marine organisms. Some hydrocarbons in oil with lower molecules will evaporate, while those with higher molecules will form dark-sticky blobs called tarballs.
“The Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in tarballs are carcinogenic, and they can affect the health of marine organisms that interact with them. The tarballs also act as an aggregator of heavy metals such as cadmium and lead. A section of these tarballs might sink to the seabed or be washed ashore,” he said, adding that the exact impact can be ascertained only after assessing the quantity of the content in the sunken vessel.
A ship study conducted by the Department of Chemical Oceanography at CUSAT in the eastern Arabian Sea in 2018 revealed the presence of floating tarballs, reportedly caused by accidental leakage, shipping or natural seepage of oil, along the country's west coast.
A recent study, which is under publication, has already found a high presence of microplastics and heavy metals in the Cochin coastal region. “Incidents like this will cause the presence of microplastics in commercially available fish to go beyond the permissible levels. Bioaccumulation of these pollutants in our body will have long-term impacts,” he said.
Immediately after the wreckage, the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority issued a warning against going near cargoes if they were found on the coastline. The warning was specifically issued considering the presence of calcium carbide in some containers.
Calcium carbide is unlikely to cause a major environmental impact, said Shaju. The local community was advised against going near the containers due to the fear of explosion. Exothermic reactions (ones that release heat) happen when calcium carbide interacts with water. The reaction produces acetylene gas, which might trigger explosions. There is an immediate risk in such cases, he added.