MSC Elsa 3 shipwreck off Kerala: Union Ministry tells NGT that Tamil Nadu seeks ₹1,041.8-crore compensation for pollution impact

The Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that Tamil Nadu has sought a compensation of about ₹1,041.8 crore for the environmental damage and associated losses caused by the accumulation of plastic nurdles along its coast following the sinking of the container ship MSC Elsa 3 off the Kerala coast on May 25, 2025.

The Principal Bench of the tribunal in New Delhi had asked the Ministry to submit the details of States and Union Territories that may have suffered environmental damage owing to the shipwreck after it took suo motu cognisance of the report titled ‘Containers from sunken ship likely to drift towards Alappuzha, Kollam Coasts in 48 hours: INCOIS’ published in The Hindu.