Kerala shipwreck: State govt looks for insurance compensation instead of immediate criminal case against shipping company

Kerala government opts for insurance compensation negotiation instead of immediate criminal case against MSC Elsa 3 shipping company.

Though the sinking of the container ship MSC Elsa 3 off the Kerala coast sparked significant environmental concerns, including potential oil spills and the spread of hazardous chemicals, the Kerala government is of the view that there was no need to file an immediate criminal case against the shipping company in connection with the accident in the waters off Kochi.

Instead of pursuing a criminal case against the company, the State is looking for adequate insurance compensation through negotiation. A decision in this regard was taken during a meeting between Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the Director General of Shipping recently.

According to a note prepared by the Chief Secretary, accessed by The Hindu, ahead of the meeting between the Chief Minister and the Director General of Shipping soon after the accident, the general consensus in the State 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, the note said.

“The MSC is also a reputed company which patronises the Vizhinjam International Sea Port, and the company requires the goodwill of Kerala for their operations here. It is also in their interest to cooperate with Kerala 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,” the note said. 

The nearly three-decade-old ship carrying more than 640 containers sank off the coast of Kerala on May 25. As per the cargo manifest, the ship had 13 containers with hazardous goods, and twelve of them had calcium carbide, a reactive compound.