Kerala government faces criticism for failing to prosecute MSC Elsa-3 shipwreck

Opposition political parties and shipping industry stakeholders have criticized the Kerala government’s decision to drop any criminal charges against the commercial vessel MSC Elsa-3, which sank off the State’s coast last month. The opposition Congress party, which claims the administration is indifferent and has not launched a thorough inquiry into the shipwreck, is organizing a protest for Wednesday. Despite cargo containing dangerous chemicals plunging into the sea, KPCC president Sunny Joseph claimed that the State administration had demonstrated criminal carelessness and had deceived fishermen and coastal communities.

According to a maritime attorney in Kochi, the State government has the right to take immediate action to remove wrecks and to control and resolve environmental issues. In accordance with the government notification under the Disaster Management Department, he continued, this would also be a reasonable move to solve the grave problem of coastal pollution brought on by the shipwreck. Instead of becoming embroiled in a court dispute, he added, the government seems to have decided to pursue an insurance claim as a quicker and more practical way to resolve the matter.

The decision has come under criticism for attempting to settle a disaster of this magnitude solely through insurance channels, without initiating legal action — both civil and criminal — as mandated by various statutes such as the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Merchant Shipping Act, the Indian Ports Act, the MARPOL Convention, the Environment (Protection) Act, the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage, and the Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks. Experts from the legal fraternity and those well-versed in the shipping and maritime industries are baffled by the government’s decision not to pursue legal action, particularly of a criminal nature.