Liberian shipwreck; ICG ramps up oil spill response

As a Liberian cargo ship sank off the Kerala coast causing oil slick, the Indian Coast Guard has deployed offshore patrol vessels for monitoring of the site while pollution response vessel Samudra Prahari has been mobilised as the ICG intensified surveillance and spill mitigation efforts.

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Authorities in Kerala Monday said many of its containers have started to wash ashore, with some of those being found along the coasts of southern Kollam and Alappuzha districts. "As there is a risk of the oil spill spreading, a high alert has been issued along the entire Kerala coast," according to a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) earlier in the day. Liberian container vessel -- MSC ELSA 3 -- sank off the Kochi coast early Sunday, due to flooding. It went down with 640 containers, including 13 with hazardous cargo and 12 containing calcium carbide. It was also loaded with 84.44 MT of diesel and 367.1 MT of furnace oil, the Ministry of Defence said Sunday.

The ministry in a fresh statement Monday said hours after the container vessel sank, the Indian Coast Guard's surveillance aircraft detected an "oil slick" at the site, and the ICG has launched a "full-scale pollution response operation".