Diving team is ready onboard DSV SEAMEC-III for underwater salvage operation.

Diving gears being set up on the deck of diving support vessel SEAMEC-III.

The underwater salvage operation of the container ship MSC Elsa 3 that sank off the Alappuzha coast on May 25 began on Monday, June 9, says the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS).

The ship’s owner firm Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) had roped in the Singapore-based T&T Salvage for the task. The salvage team has mobilised diving support vessel SEAMEC III and 12 divers will carry out air-diving operation.

A remotely operated vehicle and diving equipment, including decompression systems, have been loaded on the ship to ensure the vessel is ready to undertake diving near the sunken vessel.

In the first stage, divers will identify the openings of fuel tanks and do capping to prevent oil seepage from the vessel. The removal of oil from the fuel tanks by hot tapping will be executed during the second stage, which is scheduled to be completed by July 3, subject to weather conditions, says a DGS release.

The ongoing container salvage efforts by the Marine Emergency Response Services (MERC) along the shoreline have seen continued progress. The MSC and the Protection and Indemnity (P&I) Club, insurer of the vessel, had appointed MERC for removal of containers and for other shoreline clean-up activities.

Till date, 51 of the 61 containers that fell off the ship and washed ashore have been recovered and delivered to port, while the remaining 10 containers are under ‘active salvage’. Those under active salvage include partially submerged containers that are being addressed by dedicated response teams in coordination with the local administration concerned. None of the 61 containers that washed ashore had hazardous substances.

The shoreline clean-up of the plastic nurdles that washed ashore along the Thiruvananthapuram and Kanyakumari coasts is progressing steadily, in close coordination with MERC and the the district and State-level disaster management authorities concerned.

On its part, the State government has issued a standard operating procedure to ensure the systematic deployment of trained volunteers from NGOs and civil defence, beginning June 8.

The representatives of the vessel’s P&I Club and the shipowners had a meeting with the State government stakeholders and agreed for settlement of claims in accordance with the law.

No oil pollution

While there have been no reports of oil pollution along the shoreline till date, the necessary response equipment have been put on standby as a precautionary measure. The DGS continues to monitor the situation through coordination meetings every day and remains committed to ensuring swift, safe, and environmentally responsible operations in collaboration with all stakeholders. The statutory investigation under the Merchant Shipping Act to identify the cause of the sinking is being undertaken by the Mercantile Marine department’s Kochi unit.

The Indian Coast Guard and State authorities too are engaged in onshore and offshore response.