在船东地中海航运公司（MSC）突然终止与打捞公司T&T Salvage的合同后，印度喀拉拉邦海岸沉船"MSC Elsa 3"轮数百吨燃油抽除作业被迫中断。

该沉船位于阿拉普扎Thottappally港约14.6海里处的阿拉伯海，沉没深度约54米。  

■ 专业能力争议致合同终止

印度商船海运局披露，MSC以T&T Salvage"缺乏深水燃油抽除技术"为由解约，尽管该公司已从新加坡和南非调派专业潜水团队，并在潜水支援船SEAMAC III协助下，于6月12日成功完成燃油舱密封作业。

印度航运总局(DG Shipping)曾于6月10日勒令MSC必须在48小时内启动抽油作业。  

T&T Salvage向当局表示，关键饱和潜水系统已运抵印度等待清关，但季风恶劣天气阻碍了采用"热穿刺"技术（一种需平稳海况的高精度燃油抽取工艺）的推进。

MSC声称正在物色新打捞团队，但此举引发对作业延误的担忧。  

■ 二次污染风险持续

监测显示沉船结构暂时稳定，但近日事故海域出现长1公里、宽50米的彩虹色油膜。

当局研判这些油污并非来自已密封的主燃油舱，而是机舱等密闭空间残留的润滑油渗出。

船东代表Brand Marine Consultants证实，正与知名打捞公司SMIT Salvage敲定新合约，拟采用饱和潜水技术继续作业，新方案尚待航运总局审批。

■ 岸线清理取得进展

岸上清理团队已回收约190吨从破损集装箱泄漏的塑料颗粒（nurdles），当地志愿者参与了海滩清理行动。

水下仍有待打捞的集装箱，政府每日持续开展空中监测，并派驻拖轮在附近值守。  

▲Image Credits: Indian Coast Guard/X

▲Image Credits: Indian Coast Guard/X

英文原文

The operation to extract hundreds of tonnes of oil from the sunken cargo ship MSC Elsa 3 off Kerala’s coast has come to a sudden halt after the shipowner, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), ended its contract with salvage firm T&T Salvage.

The sunken vessel is situated approximately 14.6 nautical miles off Thottappally Harbour in Alappuzha, lying at a depth of around 54 meters in the Arabian Sea.

According to India’s Mercantile Marine Department, MSC claimed that T&T Salvage lacked the required expertise to carry out fuel extraction and wreck recovery operations at that depth. This decision comes despite the fact that T&T had brought in expert divers from Singapore and South Africa who had already made significant progress in sealing leaks in the bunker fuel pipeline.

The Directorate General of Shipping (DG Shipping) had issued a notice to MSC on June 10, demanding that oil extraction begin within 48 hours. By June 12, the fuel tanks of the ship had been successfully sealed and capped by the diving team, with assistance from the diving support vessel SEAMAC III.

The vessel later returned to Kochi to install a saturation diving system intended to assist in the next stage of underwater work. T&T Salvage had told authorities that key equipment had arrived in India and was awaiting customs clearance. They also reported that severe monsoon conditions had made it difficult to safely carry out fuel extraction operations.

The company stated that “hot tapping”, a method used to extract fuel from sealed tanks is highly technical and needs calm weather windows to be executed properly.

The sudden termination of T&T Salvage’s involvement has raised questions about the shipping firm’s intentions, especially since the team on site had already completed critical preparatory work. MSC says it is looking for a new salvage team, but the switch has raised worries about more delays in removing the fuel and wreck.

Meanwhile, DG Shipping confirmed that while the wreck remains stable for now, they are monitoring it closely. A light rainbow-colored oil sheen was recently observed near the site, spreading approximately 1 kilometer in length and 50 meters wide.

Authorities believe this oil is not coming from the main fuel tanks, which were capped, but rather from residual oil and lubricants still trapped in enclosed areas like the engine room and machinery spaces. These small leaks are expected to continue intermittently until the vessel is fully flushed of all remaining oil.

Brand Marine Consultants, which is coordinating on behalf of the shipowner, has reported that a new contract is being finalised with SMIT Salvage. This company is expected to carry out the fuel removal using saturation diving techniques. DG Shipping is now waiting for the new salvage plan to be submitted for review and approval.

Onshore, cleanup teams have made significant progress in collecting plastic pellets, known as nurdles, that spilled from one of the ship’s containers. So far, about 190 tonnes of these nurdles have been recovered with help from local volunteers combing the beaches.

Proper storage arrangements have been made for the collected plastic waste. Divers have also been deployed to recover another container that remains underwater.

The Indian government continues to conduct daily aerial surveillance of the wreck site, and a tugboat is stationed nearby to assist and monitor the situation.

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