Kerala deploys volunteers to clean plastic pellets after shipwreck

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala has launched a major clean-up operation following the shipwreck of the Liberian container vessel MSC ELSA 3 off its coast, which resulted in plastic pellets (nurdles) washing ashore. The vessel sank early Sunday, 15 nautical miles off Kochi, carrying 640 containers, including 13 with hazardous cargo, 12 containing calcium carbide, 84.44 metric tonnes of diesel, and 367.1 metric tonnes of furnace oil, according to the Ministry of Defence.

In response, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced on Wednesday that volunteers are being deployed along the shoreline at intervals of every 100 metres, guided by drone surveys, to remove the plastic pellets and mitigate environmental damage. The clean-up operation is coordinated by police, fire services, and pollution control officers. Volunteers have undergone safety training, and supervisors are in place to ensure no one engages in hazardous tasks.

The Chief Minister’s Office emphasized that public safety, environmental protection, and the safeguarding of the fishing industry are the government’s top priorities. Instructions have already been issued to coastal local self-government bodies and fishing communities on handling unusual items or containers that wash ashore. Additionally, fishing activities have been completely banned within a 20-nautical-mile radius around the wreck site.

Preparedness for any potential oil spill includes rapid response teams led by the Pollution Control Board, which have made local arrangements such as deploying oil booms and advising installations at estuaries and river mouths. This comprehensive response follows a high-level expert meeting convened by Chief Minister Vijayan, which included international and national specialists such as Dr Muralee Thummarukudy, renowned for his disaster management work, Dr Olof Linden, a former professor at the World Maritime University, environmental economist Shanthakumar, petroleum chemical analyst Dr Babu Pillai, and coastal waste expert Mike Coving. Senior state officials, including the Chief Secretary and District Collectors, also participated.

The clean-up and preventive measures continue as Kerala intensifies efforts to protect its coastline and marine ecosystem from the fallout of the MSC ELSA 3 shipwreck.

With PTI inputs