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MSC to pay over ₹1.2K-cr to Kerala govt: HC order
In addition, the State had filed an Interlocutory Application (IA) seeking the continued arrest of MSC AKITETA 2, currently held at the Vizhinjam port and belonging to a sister firm of the MSC, until the shipping firm paid the security for the same or the compensation claimed for the damages due to the sinking of MSC ELSA 3
The Kerala high court on Thursday delivered an interim order directing the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) to pay a security of ₹1227.62 crore towards compensation for damage to the marine ecosystem and the corresponding economic losses suffered by the local fishing community on the coast of Kochi, pursuant to the sinking of the MSC ELSA 3 vessel carrying several pieces of cargo classified as “hazardous” on May 25 this year.
Justice MA Adbul Hakim delivered the ruling while hearing the admiralty suit filed by the Kerala government against MSC and its sister companies, demanding compensation of ₹9531.11 crore under various heads.
In addition, the State had filed an Interlocutory Application (IA) seeking the continued arrest of MSC AKITETA 2, currently held at the Vizhinjam port and belonging to a sister firm of the MSC, until the shipping firm paid the security for the same or the compensation claimed for the damages due to the sinking of MSC ELSA 3.
“The order of arrest against the respondent number 1 vessel shall be until ₹1227.62 crore is deposited by the respondent number 1 in this court or until security for the said amount is furnished by the respondent number 1 to the satisfaction of the court,” the court order read.
The court also pointed out that the fixation of ₹ 1227.62 crore as security for the release of the MSC Akiteta 2 vessel would not prevent the State from seeking an increase in the security during the pendency of the suit.
The court delivered the interim ruling after assessing in detail the state government’s claims of damages under various heads such as damage to marine ecosystem due to oil pollution, economic losses to fishermen, costs for plastic pollution and chemical pollution, landing losses of the fishermen and costs for future preventative measures.
While the court agreed with the State’s contentions on some of the demands, it offered a different take on others.
While the State had demanded a sum of over ₹8000 crore for damages due to oil pollution, the court fixed the security for the same at a sum of ₹500 crore and deemed the revised sum sufficient to protect the interests of the state as of the present juncture. “There is no material before this court to find that there is extensive oil pollution within the territorial waters,” it said.
The Liberia-flagged MSC vessel, which was bound for Kochi from Vizhinjam, sank completely on the morning of May 25 after suffering a list due to inclement weather the previous day.
It sank around 14 nautical miles away from Kochi, scattering a large portion of its 643 containers onboard including several filled with microplastics and at least 12 containing calcium carbide into the sea. While an oil spill was reported in the days following the disaster, tonnes of plastic nurdles washed up on beaches across the southern part of the state’s coast over the next several weeks. Fishermen also reported that their nets had been torn due to the cargo containers that floated in the sea.
