Fear of flotsam

Flotsam from Liberian cargo vessel reaches Kanniyakumari coast, prompting pollution concerns; clean-up efforts under way.

On May 28, 2025, some flotsam reached the western coastline of Kanniyakumari district. Panic spread as the residents of the coastal hamlets noticed bags of chemicals, plastic pellets (nurdles), and loose nurdles washing ashore amid the flotsam. As they were aware of the Liberian cargo vessel having sunk off the Kochi coast on May 25, roughly 300 km away, the villagers wondered with trepidation whether pollution had reached their coast too. The initial investigation traced the contents to the vessel, MSC Elsa 3, which found their way to the Arabian Sea after the shipwreck.

The ship had carried 644 containers, some of which had hazardous materials including calcium carbide, 367.1 metric tonnes of heavy furnace oil, and over 60 tonnes of diesel. As 28 huge containers from the ship which sank 38 nautical miles off Kochi washed ashore in the coastal areas near Kollam, plastic pellets were found in Thiruvananthapuram in a day’s time.

Ocean currents redirected some of the floating materials southward, causing them to wash ashore along the Kanniyakumari coast. The debris trail spread up to even Dhanushkodi and Arichalmunai in the Rameshwaram coast in the following days.

The debris, including a container, wooden materials, cashew nuts and bags of plastic pellets, began drifting with the currents and landing along the coast of Kanniyakumari. Dickson, a resident of Vallavilai, says, “Most of us knew this would happen, once we got to know that the debris had started washing ashore along the coast of Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram.” He adds that apart from nurdles, a log, possibly of teak wood or sandalwood, also washed ashore at Vallavilai.

Villages, such as Neerody, Eraviputhenthurai, Enayam, Chinnathurai, Midalam, Kadiyapattinam, Simon Colony, Melamanakudy, Erayumanthurai, and Chothavilai, reported a significant amount of loose nurdles and bags of plastic pellets. Residents of Vallavilai, Kodimunai, and Midalam noticed iron rods and cashew nuts which were later traced to the shipwreck. On May 29, a container itself washed up on the coast of Vaniyakudi.

The district administration started its response in coordination with the Revenue and Fisheries Departments and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, with advice from experts.

On the 12-km stretch from Dhanushkodi to Arichalmunai in Rameswaram, about 80 bags of plastic pellets and more than 500 kg of loose nurdles have been removed so far.