India Coast Guard Responds to Oil Spill After Liberian-Flagged Ship Sinks Off Kerala Coast

Ship Sinking and Distress Call

• 📌 A distress call was received on May 24th at 12:15 PM from the motor vessel MSC Elsa 3, a Liberian-flagged freight ship.
• 🚢 The vessel, measuring 184 meters, sank off the coast of Kerala on Sunday, May 25th.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 All 24 crew members were successfully rescued.

Rescue Operations and Challenges

• ⚓ The Indian Navy deployed two ships, INS Satpura and INS Sujata, to the scene.
• 🌊 Rescue operations faced significant challenges due to adverse conditions, including wind speeds gusting up to 40 knots and debris in the water.
• 🌃 The presence of containers in the water made approaching the ship, especially at night, extremely difficult.
• 🚁 In the evening, 21 crew members were rescued by the ICGS Arves.

Cargo and Environmental Concerns

• 📦 The ship was carrying 640 containers, with 13 containing hazardous cargo.
• ⚠️ Among the hazardous cargo was calcium carbide, a chemical used in fertilizer and steel production.
• ⛽ The vessel also contained approximately 370 tonnes of fuel and oil, leading to an oil spill.
• 🌊 The Coast Guard initiated actions to contain the spread of the oil spill using two ships.