Maritime traffic hits rock bottom
On May 25, 2025, the dilapidated container ship MSC Elsa 3, which was certified as suitable for sea transport by the French group Veritas, sunk south of Kochi, State of Kerala, India. Fifteen days later, a white tide of plastic pellets is invading ports and beaches. Twenty-five kilogram (plastic) bags of pellets wash up on the shore as well. Fishing is banned in a large area. This means desolation for the coastline and thousands of fishermen who live there. The government of the Indian Union is trying to reassure them. Currently 100 meters below sea-level, the wreck of the Elsa 3 should be raised from the seafloor to recover all of the containers in her hold. All the containers that were on the bridge are already adrift. Initial findings suggest that a malfunction in the ballast water tank filling system caused the sudden and uncontrollable list.
MSC, Luxury and Misery
The Swiss-Italien maritime company MSC plays both sides.
The third largest cruise company worldwide, MSC just commissioned two World Class mega-cruise ships from the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire with great fanfare: 3.5 billion euros for “Choose France” and mass tourism (see press release of May 31, 2017).
