Liberian Vessel Sinks Off Kochi Coast, Indian Coast Guard On High Alert

Indian Coast Guard said in a statement that it is monitoring the situation closely for any oil or chemical spill and is fully geared up to respond to any emerging situation.

Liberian Vessel Sinks Off Kochi Coast, Indian Coast Guard On High Alert

Source : X@ANI

A Liberia-flagged container vessel sank off Kochi due to flooding in the early hours on Sunday at around 7:30 AM. All the 24 crew aboard MSC ELSA 3 (IMO NO. 9123221) were rescued safely. However, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is on a high alert after the ship sank off the Kochi coast.

ICG said in a statement that it is monitoring the situation closely for any oil or chemical spill and is fully geared up to respond to any emerging situation.

Of these, 21 were rescued by the Indian Coast Guard and three by the Indian Navy ship INS Sujata. According to news agency IANS, the crew included one Russian (Master), two Ukrainians, a Georgian, and 20 Philippine nationals.

The distress information regarding the Liberian vessel's situation was received at around 1325 hours on May 24. It was located about 38 nautical miles from Kochi at the time and had developed a 26-degree list to starboard, with a risk of capsizing.

When the shipping company failed to establish communication with the crew, it requested ICG for its assistance to ensure the safety of those onboard the vessel. Acting promptly, the ICG's Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre in Kochi dispatched a Dornier aircraft to conduct aerial surveillance and discover the vessel's exact location, IANS reported.

Thereafter, the ICG aircraft identified two liferafts with five and four survivors, respectively. It then air-dropped additional liferafts to aid rescue efforts. Later, ICG ship Arnvesh rescued twelve more crew members. Nine more were saved by MV Han Yi. INS Sujata also joined the operation and rescued three crew members.

The vessel departed Vizhinjam port for Kochi on Friday and experienced a listing en route. By 2200 hrs on May 24, only three crew members, including the Captain, Chief Engineer, and Second Engineer were onboard to coordinate salvage operations. However, the vessel sank early on May 25.

There were a total of 640 containers onboard the vessel, of which 13 contained hazardous cargo and 12 held calcium carbide. The vessel was also carrying 84.44 MT of diesel and 367.1 MT of furnace oil.

In order to monitor the situation, the ICG has deployed its pollution response ship 'Saksham' and is also using aircraft with advanced oil spill mapping technology to monitor the environmental impact closely, especially due to Kerala's ecologically sensitive and tourist-rich coastline. No oil spill has been reported so far.