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Court Ruling on MV MSC Palermo

On Tuesday, the Kerala High Court mandated the conditional arrest of the Liberian-flagged vessel MV MSC Palermo. This decision is linked to claims for damages stemming from the sinking of its sister ship, MSC Elsa 3, which occurred off the coast of Kochi on May 25.

Currently, MV MSC Palermo is docked at the Vizhinjam port in Thiruvananthapuram.

The petitioners asserted that their fishing boats suffered damage due to debris from MSC Elsa 3. The court's ruling requires the conditional arrest of MV MSC Palermo until a security deposit of Rs 2.6 crore is made.

MSC Elsa 3 was en route from Vizhinjam to Kochi, carrying 640 containers, including 13 classified as hazardous and 12 containing calcium carbide, when it reportedly sank due to flooding in one of its holds, as stated by the Indian Coast Guard.

Previously, on June 18, the court had issued a similar order for the detention of MV MSC Polo II, following a lawsuit from Sans Cashew India Private Limited, which claimed a loss of Rs 74 lakh due to the sinking.

This ruling came shortly after another order on June 13, which involved the detention of MSC Manasa F, another vessel operated by the Mediterranean Shipping Company, in response to petitions from five cargo owners who also experienced losses from the incident.

The court's orders have secured nearly Rs 6 crore as a conditional deposit for the release of the detained ships.

On May 29, the Kerala government classified the wreck of MSC Elsa 3 as a state-specific disaster.

Tinku Biswal, the principal secretary of the State Disaster Management Department, indicated that the shipwreck presents a potentially serious threat to Kerala’s coastal environment, society, and economy.