India, July 7 -- A Liberian-flagged cargo ship belonging to the Mediterranean Shipping Company, MSC ELSA 3, en route to Kochi from the Vizhinjam port, sank on May 25, approximately 14.60 nautical miles off the Alappuzha coast in Kerala. The vessel was carrying 643 containers, 244 of which contained highly hazardous and noxious substances, 58 with foreign waste, and over 450 metric tonnes of marine fuel.

Despite the presence of the toxic cargo, neither the Kerala Government nor the Government of India has taken any immediate or adequate steps for wreck removal or oil extraction. Among the cargo were also 12 containers of calcium carbide and 12 containers of organic chemicals, raising alarm over the potential severe contamination of the en...