India, June 4 -- More than a week after a container ship with sensitive cargo sank off the Kerala coast, there are few indications of how the incident occurred, or of the full extent of environmental damage. While port authorities maintain there has been no significant oil spill, the discovery of floating nurdles along coastlines in Kerala and Tamil Nadu has raised red flags. The underlying regulatory questions, perhaps more pressing, remain unanswered.

The capsizing of the Liberia-flagged MSC ELSA 3, about 40 nautical miles off Kochi, has exposed troubling gaps in India's coastal governance. The vessel was carrying 643 containers, including a declared consignment of hazardous materials such as calcium carbide, a volatile chemical known ...