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No case to be filed against MSC immediately: Kerala over sinking of ship on May 25
The Kerala government does not intend to file a criminal case immediately against Mediterranean Shipping Company, operator of the ELSA 3 cargo vessel which sank off the coast on May 25
The Kerala government does not intend to file a criminal case immediately against Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the operator of the ELSA 3 cargo vessel which sank off the coast of the state on May 25, citing the firm’s ‘patronisation’ of the Vizhinjam International Seaport and the need to collect evidence for damages to file compensation claims, a note prepared by Chief Secretary A Jayathilak on May 29 said.
The delay in filing the case has been criticised by the opposition, which rejected the government’s arguments.
The note, seen by HT, was prepared the same day Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan met top officials of the Directorate General of Shipping and four days after the Liberia-flagged cargo vessel loaded with over 640 containers capsized in the Arabian Sea around 14.5 nautical miles from the coast of the state.
While the state government has ordered the formation of at least three different committees to deal with various aspects, including assessing environmental damage such as oil spill and filing appropriate compensation claims, environmentalists and experts have flagged the need to initiate criminal proceedings against the shipping company as part of preliminary action. In the backdrop of the ship’s sinking, over 50 containers, mostly empty, drifted to the state’s coast and large amounts of plastic pellets, also known as nurdles, from the cargo washed up on the state’s coast.
The note by the chief secretary stated, “The general consensus was that a criminal case need not be filed immediately and that the entire focus at this time should be on collecting evidence of damages so that evidence based claims can be raised.”
It also added that MSC is a ‘reputed company which patronises the Vizhinjam International Seaport and the company requires the goodwill of Kerala for their operations here.’
The note said it was also in the company’s interest to cooperate with the state and settle the claims through the insurance agency. “Considering all these aspects, our claim should be raised based on strong evidence and without any compromise,” it said.
The Vizhinjam International Seaport, dedicated to the nation in May by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is a public-private-partnership project in which the first phase has been completed at a cost of ₹8867 crore. The State government has shelled out ₹5595.34 crore for the project with Adani Group spending ₹2454 crore. The Union government has granted viability gap funding in the form of ₹817 crore and ₹795 crore as an interest-free loan to be repaid over 50 years.
So far, no criminal case has been filed against MSC or other officials associated with the sunken vessel.
While the chief secretary was unavailable for comment on Monday, Kerala minister for ports VN Vasavan claimed the responsibility over registering criminal cases and initiating rescue operations with regard to such accidents in the deep sea rested with the union ministry of shipping.
“The state government does not have the jurisdiction to register a case or exercise control when it comes to accidents in the deep sea. It is the union ministry of shipping which registers cases in that regard. The incident of MSC ELSA 3 took place around 48 nautical miles away from Kochi. All matters regarding registration of case and rescue operations come under the union ministry of shipping. When there are incidents close to the coast of environmental damage or problems for fisherfolk, the state can intervene and file compensation claims for damages,” Vasavan told reporters.
Senior Congress leader KC Venugopal criticised the State for failing to take action against the shipping firm.
“In 2010, a similar accident took place off the coast of Maharashtra. The next day, the state government there registered a case and imposed a steep fine on the firm and shared the compensation proceeds with those who were affected. Here in Kerala, over two weeks have passed and the State has still not registered a case. The fisherfolk have not been able to go to sea for many days, and there are severe environmental damages,” said Venugopal.
“The State’s claims are untrue. As per a gazette published in 2016, the State government can register cases for accidents that take place within 200 nautical miles. Here, the chief secretary has recorded that the shipping firm is extremely important for Vizhinjam port and therefore no case need to be registered. When thousands of fisherfolk have been affected due to this incident, how casually and criminally is the State behaving?” he asked.
Environmental observer Sridhar Radhakrishnan opined that the State has ‘given up’ on its people, its ecosystem, and its fishing communities through such a stand.
“It’s clear that the State at this point, despite being led by a Left, progressive government, is not prioritising the public good. Obviously, liabilities have to be fixed and compensation paid out...it feels like even if the accident hurts our beaches, our environment, our tourism, our fishermen community and the tonnes of fish that we as the state’s people will consume, it must somehow not affect the Adani port. It looks like the CM and his team are bent on it. For 10 years, this government sat without making proper pollution control protocols (when such an incident happens). We still don’t have a protocol,” he told HT.
He claimed the State government failed to carry out a proper clean-up when tonnes of plastic nurdles washed up on the coast. “On the first day itself, the clean-ups failed to take off. The volunteers demanded to be paid. When they were pulled into the task, they should have been paid so that it can be documented and proper compensation claim be filed before the shipping firm,” he said.
