The story so far:

Kerala had witnessed two shipwrecks off its coast involving two separate vessels – MSC Elsa 3 and MV Wan Hai 503 – on May 25, 2025 and June 9, 2025 respectively. The incidents had raised a serious threat to the State’s marine ecosystem and coastal environment. The container ship MSC Elsa 3 went down with 640 containers, including 13 with hazardous cargo and 12 with calcium carbide. A large quantity of pellets, also called nurdles, had washed ashore on the southern coast following the incident. It prompted the authorities to step up efforts to formulate an Oil Spill Contingency Plan (OSCP). The Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), which was entrusted by the government to initiate the required measures, had awarded the work to a Bangalore-based firm. The agency submitted a report dated April 20, 2026 before the National Green Tribunal stating that the draft OSCP is ready. The Principal Bench of the NGT had taken suo motu cognisance of the environmental impact caused by the sinking of the container ship MSC Elsa 3 and had asked the authorities to come up with remedial plans.

What is the need for a State-specific OSCP?

Kerala has a coastal line of 590 km, and the entire coast is prone to oil spill disasters as one of the international oil transportation routes is adjacent to the State’s coastal line. Of the 14 districts, nine are oil spill-prone. As per the terms of reference for preparing the OSCP, oil tankers and other ships visiting ports located in the State pose a risk to the coastline areas, when they are involved in accidents. The proposal to prepare an OSCP was initiated in 2016 as part of a governmental review of the preparedness of major accident hazard units to handle chemical accidents. However, it got delayed due to various technical and financial hurdles. The scope of work included marine oil spills that occur within 12 nautical miles (24 km) of Kerala’s coastline and riverine systems extending 40 km inland or till tidal effect is evident, whichever is greater.

What are the highlights of the OSCP?

It includes mapping the Environmental Sensitive Index of oil spills along the coast of Kerala and preparing response-focussed contingency plans. The framework will elaborate on the oil spill contingency planning guidelines, wildlife response plans, ship board pollution emergency plans and tactical oil spill booming/site response plans. It will also include guidelines for crisis management and marine emergency response plans. The OSCP will highlight mitigation measures to be initiated in the wake of an emergency, the responsibilities of various departments, oil spill risks and protection priorities, shoreline response operations, and administrative action for shoreline clean-up. It will identify areas involving operation of fishing boats and ships, and map environmentally vulnerable areas along the State’s coast.

How it will address the need for an effective shoreline response?

The OSCP will recommend a detailed response plan with chain of command, duties and responsibilities. It will have the contact details, list of all available resources to be pressed into service in an emergency, and the database of available machinery or equipment for clean-up operations and details of the control equipment available in ports and harbours. The Plan will highlight the steps to be taken before initiating the shoreline clean-up, including assessment of shoreline oil characteristics, on-site conditions, methods to be adopted and determining the scope of work required in each area as per the priorities. The selection and proper use of the equipment to tackle spills will be part of the OSCP. The KSPCB has stated that the OSCP will be prepared in accordance with the guidelines of the National Oil Disaster Contingency Plan (NOS-DCP) of 2015, 2018 and 2024.

What steps precede the final OSCP?

As per the KSPCB, the draft OSCP includes various aspects related to hydrodynamic, oil spill modelling, marine sensitivity index mapping and net environmental benefit analysis. It will be vetted by a committee of experts. The draft Plan will be submitted to the Indian Coast Guard — the central coordinating agency for combating oil pollution in the coastal and marine environment. The final OSCP will be published after receiving the required clearances.