Monsoon season delays oil extraction from MSC Elsa 3, says DGS

Kochi: The Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) announced on Wednesday that ongoing peak monsoon conditions and operational risks will delay the extraction of oil from the Liberian-flagged ship that sank off the Kerala coast last month.

Citing unfavourable weather, the DGS stated that the current conditions offer only a "narrow and fragmented working window," making oil recovery efforts unstable and unsafe.

"Further delay would provide a more reliable window to safely conduct hot tapping and oil recovery," it said.

It further said that the vessel Nand Saarthi – from where saturation diving operations for oil extraction were to be conducted – remains at Kochi port due to prevailing adverse sea conditions.

"Upon improvement in weather, it will sail to the wreck site. Oil recovery equipment onboard Nand Saarthi is to be transferred to Canara Megh for the next phase. "All accessories and gases remain available and are being held for deployment once the new contractor takes over," the DGS said.

The SEAMAC III vessel, used by divers to plug oil leaks from the sunken ship, has been demobilised and is now en route to Mumbai, as all leaks have been sealed.

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has carried out aerial sorties using Dornier aircraft equipped with Pollution Surveillance Systems (PSS) to detect oil slicks, the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) reported.

"No oil slick has been observed approximately 60 nautical miles from the wreck site. Additional sorties are planned to continue monitoring the situation," it added.

Satellite imagery from the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF) is still awaited to verify the presence of shoreline and offshore oil traces.

With salvage operations currently in a standby/caretaking phase until a new contractor assumes responsibility, the DGS noted that concerns remain regarding the handling and disposal of plastic nurdles that have washed ashore from the wreck.

"The customs authorities have requested treating the recovered nurdles as bonded cargo. "Approximately 65-75 tonnes are now stored shore-side, awaiting a final disposal decision," the DGS said.

It further said that there was a need for a standard operating procedure for handling and disposal of the nurdles that balances environmental safety with regulatory compliance.

It said that according to the ITOPF, the recovered nurdles include varying polymer grades, posing challenges to standardised disposal methods.

"Onshore, the Marine Emergency Response Centre (MERC) has continued container recovery activities at Kollam, focusing on submerged containers using divers.

"Beach cleanup operations continue across Thiruvananthapuram with approximately 160 volunteers deployed," the DGS said.

However, the intermittent rains have slowed down the clean-up work on some days, it added.

"The air sorties and continuous coastal vigilance, in combination with onshore cleanup efforts, have been instrumental in monitoring post-wreck environmental impacts," it said.

The Liberian-flagged MSC Elsa 3 had sunk approximately 14.6 nautical miles off Thottappally coast in Kerala's Alappuzha district between May 24 and 25.

The vessel went down carrying 640 containers, including 13 with hazardous cargo and 12 containing calcium carbide. It was also loaded with 84.44 metric tonnes of diesel and 367.1 metric tonnes of furnace oil, according to the Ministry of Defence.

The vessel sank with oil still trapped inside.

On June 11, Kerala Police registered a case of rash navigation against the ship's owner, master, and crew.

(inputs from PTI)