The Ministry of Defence has on Sunday (May 25, 2025) noon officially confirmed the sinking of Liberian container ship ‘MSC ELSA 3’ off the Kochi coast earlier in the day, ‘due to flooding’.
Screengrab from video showing debri in of the sunken vessel. Photo: Special Arrangement
The vessel went down with 640 containers, including 13 with hazardous cargo and 12 containing calcium carbide. It was also loaded with 84.44 MT of diesel and 367.1 MT of furnace oil.
All 24 foreign crew members on board were rescued, 21 by Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and three — including the ship’s captain who is a Russian national, and its chief engineer, by the Indian Navy’s INS Sujata. The ship bearing IMO number 9123221 sank at around 7.50 am, says an official communication.
The rescued crew being tended to by Coast Guard personnel. Photo: Special Arrangement
Given the sensitive marine ecosystem along the Kerala coast, ICG has activated full pollution response preparedness. ICG aircraft equipped with advanced oil-spill detection systems are conducting aerial surveillance, and ICG ship Saksham, carrying pollution-response equipment, remains deployed at the site. So far, no oil spill has been reported.
Distress call
The emergency situation began on Saturday (May 24, 2025), when the ship developed a 26-degree tilt whilst en-route from Vizhinjam to Kochi, while located approximately 38 nautical miles south-west of Kochi and lost stability, prompting a distress call.
The ICG’s Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre (MRSC) in Kochi immediately launched a coordinated response. The Coast Guard’s Dornier aircraft that was deployed for aerial surveillance, spotted two liferafts with survivors. Subsequently, ICG patrol ships and merchant vessels MV Han Yi and MSC Silver 2 were diverted to assist (the stranded crew), in line with global search and rescue protocols.
An aerial video of the possible oil spill from the sunk vessel. Photo: Special Arrangement
By late evening on Saturday, 21 of the 24 crew, including nationals from Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and the Philippines, were rescued, while three senior crew members remained onboard to assist with salvage arrangements. However, the vessel’s condition deteriorated overnight and it capsized on Sunday morning. The three crew members were forced to abandon the ship and were rescued by INS Sujata. The reason for the tilting is yet to be ascertained, the communication says.
Alert sounded
The ship’s tilting and the falling off of a few containers having potentially hazardous cargo had created a scare across the Kerala coast. This led to issuance of an extraordinary alert by the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) on Saturday evening. People have been alerted neither to approach nor touch the cargo in the event of it washing up along the Kerala shore.
Published – May 25, 2025 01:30 pm IST
