Plastic pellets found on Kerala coast after shipwreck pose serious environmental impact, warn experts

Experts warn of serious implications for marine ecosystems as tiny plastic pellets wash up on Kerala beaches.

Tiny plastic pellets (nurdles) found on beaches in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala following the sinking of the container vessel MSC ELSA3 could have serious implications for the marine and coastal ecosystems and humans, warn experts.

While not inherently toxic, the pellets remain a dangerous pollutant. Their short- and long-term impacts include habitat contamination and their breaking up into micro and nano plastics and entering the food chain, according to A. Biju Kumar, Senior Professor, Marine Monitoring Lab, Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, University of Kerala.

The ‘nurdle spill’ on Kerala’s coast is a wake-up call for India’s coastal management, shipping safety, and marine conservation, Dr. Biju Kumar said on Wednesday (May 28, 2025) after conducting field verifications at the Varkala and Kochu Veli beaches in Thiruvananthapuram.

“While the crew of the MSC ELSA3 were safely rescued, the ocean remains at risk,”  he said, describing this as the first major incident of plastic nurdle landings in India caused by a shipwreck.

Classified as primary microplastics, these pellets and are between from 1 mm to 5 mm in diameter. They constitute a major component in the global plastic chain.

According to Dr. Biju Kumar, the pellets found in Kochu Veli are mostly low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE). They are the most commonly used material for manufacturing products such as plastic bags and films, flexible tubing, coatings for paper cartons and cables, detergent bottles, hard plastic containers, pipes and crates. They are also used in packaging material, household goods, electronics and automotive parts and medical equipment. LDPE is quite difficult to recycle, he said.  Every year, millions of tonnes of these tiny pellets are transported across the globe.

The Liberian-flagged MSC ELSA3 had capsized and sunk in the Arabian Sea off Kochi over the last weekend (May 24 and May 25). Its cargo consisted of 643 containers, including 13 laden with hazardous cargo. Several of the containers washed ashore in the coastal districts of Kerala in the days that followed, triggering concern.