Around 17 containers washed ashore after the Liberian cargo vessel MSC ELSA 3 capsized off Kochi on May 25 were removed from the Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram coasts. Work is ongoing to remove the rest.
As many as 54 containers washed ashore from Alappuzha to Thiruvananthapuram after the ship sank off Alappuzha.
Soon after the disaster, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) appointed a firm, Waterline Shipping, to remove the containers as an immediate measure to prevent dangerous cargo from being washed ashore and causing contamination.
Manoj Nair of Waterline Shipping said, “We removed 17 containers, 13 from Kollam and four from Thiruvananthapuram, from May 26 to 29. That was the initial response. We employed 15 supervisor teams and eight divers. The local fishermen were also roped in because they know the coast and the behaviour of the sea.”Sources said that another firm, appointed by DG Shipping, took over from May 30 to clear the containers in the rest of the stretch and to save the coast from pollution.
Most of the containers washed ashore were empty, but plastic pellets came off sacks and swamped the coast in many areas, including Kovalam.
There is criticism that manual cleaning of the pellets is slow.
Meanwhile, a company was also appointed to salvage the containers that sank along with the ship. Around 13 containers contain calcium carbide, which is harmful. Attempts may also be made to salvage the wreck of the ship.
The 28-year-old ship, used as a feeder vessel to move containers brought by mother ships at Colombo and Vizhijam, started listing on May 24 and sank the next day. The ship carried 643 containers.