Challenges galore before twin maritime salvage missions off Kerala coast

There was a brief scare on June 15 when India’s maritime rescue coordination unit received an alert from a vessel operating in the Gulf Sea off Qatar, reporting a sudden loss of DGPS signal.

The glitch, though it did not affect operations underway off the Kerala coast, raised concerns as two parallel high-risk salvage missions were in progress — one to stabilise and tow the fire-damaged container ship Wan Hai 503, drifting in open waters, and the other to recover oil and hazardous material from the sunken vessel MSC Elsa 3.

High-stakes mission

Both operations, overseen by the Directorate General of Shipping and involving the Indian Coast Guard, specialised salvage firms, and multiple support agencies, have stretched India’s maritime emergency response system amid rough monsoon weather and operational uncertainty.

Also read | Kerala: Tow line secured on burning cargo ship in major salvage breakthrough

“GPS and DGPS feed failures, mainly from American-owned systems, have been reported in the Gulf region—possibly due to the Israel-Iran conflict. But these disruptions have not affected Indian waters,” said a maritime expert closely involved in the ongoing operations.

Towing efforts of the burning ship continued uninterrupted, but the scare underscored the complexity and high stakes of the salvage mission in progress. Wan Hai 503 is just one of two critical maritime operations currently unfolding off India’s southwest coast.

Battling on two fronts

While Wan Hai 503 smoulders off the Malabar coast, another vessel—MSC Elsa 3—lies wrecked and leaking plastics on the seabed off Kochi. Two different disasters, one on fire and one underwater, have stretched India’s maritime response apparatus, with coordinated action involving the Indian Coast Guard, the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS), state disaster authorities, salvage contractors, and global pollution control experts.

The Wan Hai 503, a container vessel that caught fire last week, had been drifting at a slow but dangerous pace—1.5 to 2 knots—towards the Kerala coastline. After days of firefighting, the flames have been largely controlled but not fully extinguished. Grey and black smoke continues to rise from the forward cargo holds, where salvage crews report persistent heat pockets.

“It has been a high-risk operation and remains ongoing. Salvors were air-dropped onto the vessel, where they manually secured the tow lines, not once but multiple times,” an official privy to the operational details told The Federal.

Towing with ‘fire in the belly’

The towing operation is being led by Offshore Warrior, a 70.7-metre-long Indian offshore tug built in 2005. After a series of rope connections facilitated by helicopter landings, a second tug, Triton Liberty, was connected on June 14. Despite the doubled effort, strong winds and adverse weather have made progress slow and uneven.

Inside the ship, hydrocarbon vapours continue to leak from four heavy fuel oil tanks located beneath cargo holds 3 and 5, and two marine diesel oil tanks between cargo hold 6 and the engine room. The potential for re-ignition or spillage remains high, though fire-suppression systems are active.

To assist, helicopters from the Indian Air Force and Coast Guard have been dropping dry chemical powder (DCP) bombs onto the ship’s deck. Around 3,000 litres of firefighting foam is available onboard, with another 10,000 litres en route.

Boundary cooling holds the key

“As of now, the boundary cooling remains key to preserving structural integrity. Vessels Boka Winger, Triton Liberty, Garnet, Saksham and Water Lilly have been stationed alongside to spray water on the heated sections of the hull on a rotation basis. This is to prevent further weakening or collapse of the structure, especially near the fuel tanks,” said the official who is a maritime expert.

Also read | Burning cargo ship off Kerala coast poses serious toxic threat, sparks concerns

“The current weather conditions have some advantages too. The vessel is now about 63 nautical miles off the coast and maintaining its position. Intermittent rains are helping cool the structure. Only materials that can burn in water are still at risk— the main structure is expected to remain intact,” the official added.

About 24 containers have fallen overboard, some floating and some likely sunk. Patrol units from BPCL-SPM installations have been instructed to track and deflect any floating containers to avoid damage to strategic infrastructure. Reports have emerged from both southern and northern Kerala of drums and portions of the cargo washing ashore.

Beneath the surface: MSC ELSA 3 wreck

While one team fights fire and drift on the surface, another is quietly preparing for deep-sea oil recovery from the sunken MSC ELSA 3. The vessel went down off the Kochi coast in May, triggering a major pollution crisis as its cargo of plastic nurdles began washing up on beaches across Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

The salvage is being overseen by the directorate general of shipping with participation from international experts including T&T Salvage, ITOPF, MERC, and India’s Pollution Control Boards. Unlike Wan Hai, this is a slow-moving but long-term operation involving saturation diving to extract fuel from the wreck.

According to the latest situation report by the DGS, the offshore support ship SEAMAC III has been relocated inside Kochi Port, to complete safety modifications required for hot work. The vessel is undergoing conversion to support saturation diving, with air-diving equipment now demobilised. Final readiness is expected by June 17. Divers are already on board or in transit; earlier plans to bring in South African divers have been dropped.

T&T has submitted its revised oil recovery plan, which projects a 24–26 day operation to remove fuel, depending on sea conditions. Earlier, the DGS had issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the MSC company to extract the oil from the sunken vessel.

Massive onshore cleanup effort

The ELSA incident has also triggered a vast onshore cleanup operation. Over 65 tonnes of nurdles have already been collected from beaches. Volunteers—190 in Thiruvananthapuram, 120 in Kanyakumari, and 22 in Rameswaram—have been engaged daily. However, ITOPF reports continued stranding of new nurdles, suggesting that underwater containment remains incomplete.

Beach-cleaning equipment trials have not been successful due to the small size and dispersion of the pellets. Modified tools are now being developed. Customs and pollution control boards have identified new disposal sites for collected nurdles.

MERC, the ship owner’s environmental contractor, has delivered 61 containers recovered from the ELSA wreck to Kochi Port. Four more are pending. Minor debris and container fragments continue to be retrieved.

“What provides some assurance is that, under the Nairobi Convention, there are provisions to remove wrecks that pose navigational or environmental hazards within the Exclusive Economic Zone—up to 200 nautical miles. This is apart from the insurance coverage linked to the vessel,” said the official.

Testing the limits of preparedness

With two major salvage ops unfolding in tandem—one with high fire risk and coastal threat, the other requiring deep-sea oil extraction and long-term cleanup—India’s marine disaster response systems are being tested for scale, coordination, and speed.

Also read | As Kerala sets maritime milestones, cargo-ship disasters spark environmental, safety concerns

There was another moment of alarm on June 15 when the vessel Inter Asia Tenacity, en route from Port Kelang to Nhava Sheva, anchored off the Kochi coast following a fire alert. Salvors responded promptly, and after a thorough inspection, found no signs of fire. The vessel was subsequently cleared to continue its journey.

At the operational centre in Kochi, DGS and Coast Guard teams continue to monitor developments around the clock. Weather forecasts are being tracked closely. With monsoon conditions likely to worsen, authorities are pushing to conclude the towing of Wan Hai 503 before storms complicate matters further.

But even after the fires are doused and ships moved out, recovery will be far from over. The sea, once again, has reminded its watchers that a breakdown in one system—navigation, weather, containment—can halt the best-laid plans. And that two shipwrecks, of very different kinds, may yet have long-lasting impacts on India's coastline and maritime policy.