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A full two weeks after facing criticism for failing to initiate criminal proceedings in the MSC ELSA 3 shipwreck incident, an FIR has finally been registered against the vessel’s owner and crew. The Liberian-flagged vessel, which carried around 643 containers including hazardous chemicals, capsized 13 nautical miles off Kerala’s Alappuzha coast on May 25.
Initially, neither the state nor the Union government was willing to take criminal action against the shipping owner, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), a partner concern of Adani Ports, which operates multiple ports in the country, including the Vizhinjam International Seaport.
In a meeting held on May 29, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the Union Director General of Shipping decided not to file a criminal complaint against the MSC. The reason cited was that the company is a patron of Thiruvananthapuram’s Vizhinjam International Seaport, from where ELSA 3 set sail to Kochi. The meeting decided to focus on collecting evidence to raise claims, instead of filing a case.
However, the government seems to have made a U-turn after this decision was leaked in the media and the Opposition parties criticised the government for inaction.
The FIR, registered on June 11, has listed offences under Sections 282 (rash navigation of vessel), 285 (danger in line of navigation), 286 (negligent conduct of poisonous substances), 287 (negligent conduct of combustible substances), 288 (negligent conduct involving explosives), and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharathiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Nonetheless, the Kerala government has not yet released crucial details of the accident, including the cargo manifest (specifics of the goods transported) and the cause of the vessel’s starboard list (listing is when a ship tilts to one side), which resulted in the capsize. This is despite a Kerala High Court order directing to place all the information regarding the cargo and its ecological impact in the public domain.
The MSC, now headquartered in Geneva, is a major global shipping company founded in Brussels in 1970. With operations spanning across 155 countries, MSC has over 900 vessels and 7 aircraft. In the Indian maritime context, MSC assumes relevance not just as a leading shipping firm but as a strategic partner of the Adani Group.
In 2023, MSC's investing arm, Terminal Investment Limited, acquired a 49% stake in Adani Ennore Container Terminal Pvt Ltd. It is also a partner of Adani’s CT3 Container Terminal at the Mundra Port.
MSC has been an integral part of the Vizhinjam port ever since it began operations on May 2, after being inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As part of the inaugural event, the PM had also inspected an MSC-owned cargo vessel named Celestino Maresca, docked at the port.
Barely two weeks after the shipwreck, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan posted a welcome to another MSC vessel–MSC Irina– at Vizhinjam on the social media platform X. Called the world’s largest container ship, MSC Irina was welcomed with a water salute at Vizhinjam on June 9.
According to a report by the CPI(M)-backed newspaper Deshabhimani, the state government did not initially consider filing a criminal case as MSC has not been accused of any criminal act. The report said that registering a criminal case was not mandatory to claim compensation, adding that the Union government, not the state, is responsible for taking action against the ship under the Merchant Shipping Act.
Another question raised was whether a police station under the state government could register a case in an incident that happened 13 nautical miles off the coast. While the jurisdiction of coastal police stations is only up to 12 nautical miles, a gazette notification issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in 2016 empowers several coastal stations, including the Fort Kochi Coastal police station, to investigate offences under the Maritime Zones Act in areas under Exclusive Economic Zones located within 200 nautical miles.
The Kerala government, on May 30, constituted multiple high-level committees to assess the impact of the shipwreck and to conduct talks with MSC, to remove pollutants from the sea and coast. A panel, headed by the Additional Chief Secretary of the Finance Department, has been deputed to negotiate with MSC.
While attempts to salvage the sunken vessel are underway, the sea and the shore are facing the impacts of the disaster.
Following the accident, the Kerala government banned fishing within a 20-nautical-mile radius of the shipwreck. The fishermen communities in coastal districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha and Ernakulam, who are the frontline victims of the ELSA 3 shipwreck, were given Rs 1000 and 6 kg of rice per family as an interim relief.
Apart from uncertainty over livelihood, the coastal community also faces the effects of pollutants, including large quantities of nurdles (plastic pellets) in the sea and on the shore. So far, the authorities have ruled out an oil spill, though the sunken vessel is loaded with 84.44 metric tonnes of diesel and 367.1 metric tonnes of furnace oil.
Advocate VJ Mathew, former chairman of the Kerala State Maritime Board, observed that the impact of shipwreck on the fishermen community, marine life, and environment has to be properly documented. He added that it was curious why the government delayed releasing the cargo manifest when the Vizhinjam port, as per norms, could have it, since the accident occurred while ELSA 3 was travelling from Vizhinjam to Kochi.
“If the company refuses to pay compensation, which most companies usually do, the government can seize the ship and move a petition before the High Court under the Admiralty Act, 2017, and force owners to come for negotiation,” he said.
Citing that experts have been raising questions about the stacking of the container, he said a proper investigation must be conducted to determine the cause of the listing (tilt).
While the Kerala government dilly-dallied on releasing the cargo manifest, it was finally forced to release a document after Congress leader T N Prathapan moved the High Court with a Public Interest Litigation. After the first hearing on June 5, Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Basant Balaji directed the state government to place all information regarding cargo and the ecological impact of the cargo in the public domain.
The same day, the government released an unsigned document with a list of items in 640 containers on the ship, instead of the cargo manifest.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) took a suo motu case based on media reports of the shipwreck. On May 27, it asked MSC to specify the hazardous contents in the cargo containers. The NGT bench also noted that the incident violated the provisions of the Biodiversity Act, 2002; Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and the Environment Protection Act, 1986.
“The first thing the government should have done was to register a case. The government is trying to hide something. Some sources close to the Vizhinjam port secretary told me that the stacking was not proper when MSC ELSA started its journey from Vizhinjam. We also have doubts regarding the accident. As per our understanding, there was only one year left for the decommissioning of the vessel. We want to know whether there were purposeful attempts to capsize it to claim insurance. We also need to find out whether the Adani group, which has links with MSC, helped them,” said Prathapan.
Prathapan said the list of items published by the government is incomplete and lacks authenticity. “The list mentioned some items in the container as cash. Some said it was cashew. We want clarity,” he said.
Prathapan urged the Chief Minister to explain why he, the DG, Shipping, and the Chief Secretary decided not to file a case. “In the meantime, they gave a pittance to fishermen. Rs 1000 and 6 kilos of rice are like giving alms,” he said.
In the wake of reports regarding the government’s reluctance to file a criminal case against MSC, Prathapan said he would file an additional petition in his PIL. The next hearing is scheduled on June 19.
Meanwhile, the Congress is organising protests in nine coastal districts against the government's inaction on the ELSA 3 capsize on June 11.
The Mercantile Marine Department in Kochi, under the DG, Shipping, has started a probe into the cause of the accident. The DG, on June 9, started underwater salvage operations of the ELSA 3. In the first stage, divers will identify the opening of fuel oil tanks and carry out capping to prevent any oil seepage. In the second stage, expected to start on July 3, priority will be given to remove oil from tanks using hot tapping, said a statement issued by the DG.