Clean plastic pellets from sunken MSC Elsa 3: Fishers to govt

Thiruvananthapuram: The fishers have started to demand resumption of beach cleaning as more plastic pellets from the sunken MSC Elsa 3 started to wash ashore in the strong waves at Kovalam and nearby beaches. The ship with 640 containers sank near Kochi almost a year ago.

The sands of the city’s beaches were polluted by plastic pellets and other materials because the strong waves triggered by the monsoon are bringing waste from the sea to the land.

“Pelagic fishes, like tuna, are likely to consume them. If the granules that wash ashore each day are not removed on the same day, there is a chance they might get buried in the next day’s tide,” said Robert Panipilla of Friends of Marine Life.

This indicates that when MSC Elsa 3 sank, many objects may have gone into the deep sea, like the debris that washed ashore. Over the past week, there have been strong currents in the sea and winds stronger than those on land.

Panipilla also said the shipping company engaged a firm to clean up the plastic waste, but they stopped working thinking that they cleaned the debris.

“But in the monsoon, waves have started to bring more debris that was at the bottom of the sea to the shore. Govt should ensure that the waste is cleaned,” he added.