New Delhi, May 29 -- On an overcast May morning, the Arabian Sea did what warnings, protests and reports could not - it sent back to shore a few dozen battered shipping containers from among the hundreds lost when a cargo ship capsized off Kerala's coast. The Liberian-flagged MSC ELSA 3, operated by Mediterranean Shipping Company, sank 38 nautical miles off the Kerala coast on May 25, 2025 with over 640 containers on board.

Some containers carried only cotton or glassware. But others? Hazardous substances. One of them was calcium carbide, a compound that reacts explosively with water. And inside the ship's tanks were over 450 tonnes of fuel oil and diesel.

When the vessel sank, it released not just oil and cargo, but a wave of truth th...