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HomeCityLiberian ship capsize: Kerala monsoon may impact oil spill clean-up, scientists warn of 'irreversible damage'
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Liberian ship capsize: Kerala monsoon may impact oil spill clean-up, scientists warn of 'irreversible damage'

The vessel was carrying 640 containers - including 13 with hazardous cargo and 12 with calcium carbide - alongside 84.44 metric tonnes of diesel and 367.1 metric tonnes of furnace oil.

May 28, 2025 / 11:18 IST
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Credit: @indiannavy / X

As fears of an ecological disaster mount off Kerala’s coast, marine scientists have issued stark warnings that any delay in offshore containment of the oil leak from the sunken container ship MSC Elsa 3 could lead to irreversible damage.

In a report by The Indian Express, experts cautioned that once oil slicks reach the shoreline - especially during the monsoon season - cleanup becomes significantly harder, often leaving long-term consequences on marine biodiversity and coastal livelihoods.

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Dr Deepak Apte, director of the Srushti Conservation Foundation and a leading expert who studied the 2010 Mumbai oil spill, was quoted by The Indian Express as saying that monsoon tides and storm surges would make shoreline access extremely difficult, warning that once oil enters mangroves, mudflats or nesting beaches, there is little that can be done to reverse the damage.

Scientists from the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) have been deployed across key coastal zones in Kerala, collecting water and sediment samples to assess the scale and potential fallout of the spill.