India Coast Guard ran on Monday to contain a black tide to a container carrier with a dangerous cargo that sank off the southern coast a day earlier, the government of the Kerala state.
The MSC Elsa 3 with Liberian flag, listed as a 184 -meter freight ship (603 feet), came down on Sunday from Kerala, with the 24 rescued crew members.
It transported 640 containers – including 13 with dangerous cargoes, 12 containing calcium carbide, a chemical used for fertilizer production and steel creation. The ship also contained some 370 tonnes of fuel and oil.
“The Coast Guard takes steps to prevent oil spread using two ships,” Kerala government said in a statement.
“The dust spraying work to destroy the oil is underway using a Dornier plane”.
The Indian Defense Ministry said that the ship had flowed “due to floods” to around 38 nabin miles southwest of Kochi, raising concerns for “the sensitive marine ecosystem along the Kerala coast”.
The government has put the coastal areas on high alert and warned people not to touch or approach containers – some have already been stranded along the coast.
The ship was sailing between the Indian ports of Vizhinjam and Kochi when it was in trouble on Saturday and launched a distress call.
