Poor Maintenance, Defective Equipment & Crew’s Carelessness Caused MSC Elsa 3 Sinking, Investigation Reveals
The Liberian-flagged container vessel MSC ELSA 3 sank off the Kerala coast on May 25, 2025, while carrying 643 containers, including 13 containing hazardous materials.
An interim report submitted to the Kerala High Court revealed all the causes which made the ship unseaworthy after departing the Vizhinjam Port.
According to the report, a malfunction in the ballast and heeling systems caused the ship to list uncontrollably up to 27 degrees, leading to a total power blackout.
The crew and shore personnel had recorded abnormal pressure readings 36 hours before the ship began its journey, yet they chose to ignore them.
The ship was old and did not have modern safety backups. Issues were found in its bilge pumping and automated heeling systems, but were not tackled immediately.
Additionally, vital spare parts flagged as ‘critical’ by the crew were not supplied by the management despite being requested 8 months prior.
MSC Elsa 3 needed maintenance as during the incident, water flooded into the cargo hold through a leaking manhole cover and a cracked weld seam in a ballast tank, which caused the hull failure.
Though the crew had theoretical knowledge, they did not possess the required training to handle emergency ballast operations, manual overrides, and prolonged blackouts.
The ship’s technical management team in Cyprus delayed critical response actions by over 3 hours when the crisis began.
They also lacked a proper understanding of the vessel’s systems, leading to broken communication during the ship’s final hours.
The report was presented by the Directorate General of Shipping to oppose a plea by the crew to return home, citing negligence and misconduct.
However, the Kerala High Court has allowed 3 crew members, including the electro-technical engineer, a seaman, and a motorman, to return to their home countries.
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