India is scrambling to contain a potential environmental disaster after a container vessel sank off the coast of Kochi in Kerala, raising fears of an oil and hazardous chemical spill along the state’s southern shoreline.
The Liberia-flagged vessel MSC ELSA 3, carrying over 640 containers, sank about 38 nautical miles west of Kochi on Saturday. Among its cargo were 13 containers marked hazardous and 12 carrying calcium carbide, a highly reactive chemical. The ship also had more than 450 tonnes of fuel onboard, including 84 tonnes of diesel and 367 tonnes of furnace oil.
