On June 25, 2025, Greenpeace South Asia highlighted a significant environmental crisis following the shipwreck of the MSC ELSA 3 off the coast of Kerala, India. This incident, which occurred just weeks after another vessel, the WAN HAI 503, caught fire, has led to the discharge of plastic nurdles—small plastic pellets—into the waters of South India and Sri Lanka. These nurdles, along with potential hazardous materials from the ships, threaten critical ecosystems and local communities, compounding the already dire consequences of the past X-Press Pearl disaster.
The recent shipwrecks have raised alarms regarding regulatory lapses and corporate negligence in the maritime shipping sector. Hemantha Withanage from the Centre for Environmental Justice pointed out that Sri Lanka is still recovering from the fallout of the X-Press Pearl incident and now faces another pollution crisis, highlighting the urgent need for stronger regional mechanisms to hold polluters accountable.
The small size of nurdles belies their detrimental impact on the environment. Kasumi Ranasinghe from The Biodiversity Project emphasized the toxic dangers posed by nurdles, as they can absorb and release harmful substances, harming marine life and ecosystems for decades. The situation is exacerbated by monsoon weather, which carries these pollutants further into sensitive coastal areas of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka.
Anita, a campaigner with Greenpeace South Asia, noted that volunteers and local groups are actively collecting nurdles for laboratory analysis. She criticized the lack of accountability from shipping companies, asserting that the financial burden of cleanup typically falls on the public rather than the responsible corporations. To effectively tackle these repeated incidents, she called for the Sri Lankan government to hold the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) accountable for damages, including biodiversity loss.
Environmental activists, including Melani Gunathilaka of Climate Action Now, addressed the broader implications of transboundary pollution. They stressed that hazardous spills such as these do not remain confined to national waters and that consistent regulatory failures contribute to an ongoing environmental crisis. Gunathilaka emphasized the need for enhanced enforcement and international cooperation to mitigate the ongoing threats of plastic pollution.
Greenpeace is demanding full transparency regarding the cargo manifest of the MSC ELSA 3 and is urging MSC to support rapid cleanup efforts, conduct independent impact assessments, and implement a compensation plan for affected communities. As the company has yet to provide any communication regarding the disaster, there is an insistence that accountability is not merely a concept but an essential responsibility.
Overall, the recurrence of such shipwrecks reflects systemic failures that necessitate urgent action from governments and corporations alike, aiming to safeguard vulnerable ecosystems and communities from escalating health and environmental risks.
Source link
