Both foreign ship disasters off Kerala covered under insurance, says Indian government

Both major shipping disasters (a sinkage and a fire) involving foreign-flagged cargo ships off the coast of the Southwestern Indian state of Kerala are covered under insurance, a top Indian Government official said. In response to a query from WION, Ramachandran, the Indian Government's Secretary for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, confirmed that the sunken MSC ELSA 3 and the MV Wan Hai 503 that was ablaze for several days are covered under insurance, implying that the Indian Government would be compensated for the environmental damage, other costs associated with the maritime disasters. He said that the respective ship owning companies, the salvors, concerned entities are following the due process.

Shortly after the onset of the Southwest monsoon, two shipping disasters had taken place in quick succession off the Kerala coast. The first incident involving MSC Elsa 3 occurred in the last week of May, while the Wan Hai 503 incident took place in early June.

MSC ELSA 3 sinkage in May

On Sunday, 25thMay, the Liberia-flagged cargo ship MSCELSA3 cargo sank off the Kerala coast. The vessel with hazardous cargo, more than 640 containers, over 400 metric tons of fuel, had sunk about30 kms off Alappuzha, Kerala. The vessel had reported distress on Saturday afternoon and had sunken by Sunday morning.

The Liberia-flagged container vessel was sailing on a day-long voyage between two ports in Kerala-from Vizhinjam, Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi, when it began to tilt sideways at noon, Saturday, 24thMay. All 24 crew members of the cargo ship had been rescued by the Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy.

The ship had in its tanks, 84.44 Metric tons of diesel and367.1 Metric tons of furnace oil. Following the sinkage, plastic pellets, shipping containers began washing along the Kerala coast, and some debris has also washed along parts of the Tamil Nadu coast.

Shortly after the sinkage, the Kerala Government had declared the incident a State Disaster. "Considering the potentially serious environmental, social, and economic impact of the ship wreckage, the Government hereby declares the wreckage of ship M/sELSA3in the Arabian sea 14.6 nautical miles off the Kerala coast as a State-Specific disaster," read a statement from Kerala's Disaster Management Department.

The declaration of State Disaster indicates the severity of the incident, as Kerala is a popular hub for tourists, is rich in marine life and biodiversity, offers wide range of seafood, has among the highest seafood-consuming population in India.

In the aftermath of the sinkage, the Indian Coast Guard carried outintensive surveillance and oil spill mitigation through air operations and deployment of Oil Spill dispersant Chemicals using specialized ship-borne equipment.

MV Wan Hai 503 fire and salvage operations in June

On Monday, 9thJune, Singapore-flagged Merchant VesselWanHai, carrying containerized cargo was sailing from Colombo, Sri Lanka to Mumbai, India, when it reported onboard explosion while off Kerala, India. On being alerted about the evolving maritime distress situation in Indian waters, the Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy deployed their ships and aircraft to render assistance and monitor the situation.

The Indian Navy and Coast Guard rescued 18 of the ship's 22crew. According to the ICG, the ablaze cargo ship carries 2,128 metric tonnes of fuel, and hundreds of containers, including hazardous cargo. For over a week, the Indian Coast Guard carried out firefighting operations and monitored the situation. Later, the ICG provided support to salvage and tow away the vessel.