Kollam: 

Coastguard sources say that no hazardous substances were found in the the containers that reached the coasts.

Eight containers from the cargo ship has washed ashore the Kollam coasts in the past 12 hours. The first container was spotted at 4am at the Alappad coasts followed by three containers near the Neendakara coasts in Kollam.

All the containers that had reached the shore was found open and is empty with no liquid or solid substances in it. Customs dept has confirmed that if any new containers reach the shore, it will be taken into custody.

State government on full alert

The state government on Sunday has convened a meeting and has swung into action following the sinking of the Liberia-flagged container vessel MSC ELSA.

The Indian Coast Guard has deployed two ships for containment operations and uses a Dornier aircraft to spray chemical dispersants over the affected area. The Director General of the Coast Guard, who also heads the National Oil Spill Response Plan, directly supervises the containment efforts.

Approximately 100 containers are feared to have fallen into the sea, and many are drifting toward the shore at an estimated speed of 3 km/h.

The ship was proceeding from Vizhinjam to Kochi along a specific route taken by other vessels as well. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has activated full pollution response preparedness after the Kochi-bound Liberia-flagged MSC ELSA 3 vessel sank off the Kerala coast on Sunday, the Ministry of Defence said in an official statement.

“At-least eight containers have already fallen into the sea. An alert has been issued to ships and fishing vessels sailing through the specific route along the international shipping channel”, said a senior port officer.

The government deployed Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) to tackle the threat of drifting cargo containers and a potential coastal oil spill.

In a high-level meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary, the Factories and Boilers Department and the Pollution Control Board have been directed to constitute the RRTs. District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAs), police, and other agencies will extend all necessary support for emergency operations and public safety.

ICG aircraft equipped with advanced oil spill detection systems are conducting aerial surveillance, while ICG ship Saksham, carrying pollution response equipment, remains deployed at the site.

What experts say
• A possible bunker spill could threaten the marine ecosystem in the Alappuzha region
• There is a major chance of the containers drifting towards the shore due to the southwest monsoon effect and the rough sea
• Possibility of containers being sighted in a day or two
• Public urged to stay away from the containers due to possibility of explosion

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