Lost containers from Wan Hai 503 may pose future shoreline risk, assessment finds

A pollution risk assessment submitted to the National Green Tribunal has concluded that containers lost from the Singapore-flagged vessel Wan Hai 503 do not currently pose a significant threat to the marine environment. However, the report warns that shoreline impacts may occur in the future if the containers corrode and release their contents.

The vessel caught fire and exploded off the Kerala coast on June 9, 2025, while carrying approximately 1,754 containers. It was later towed to Jebel Ali port in the UAE on August 24, 2025. The ship's registered owner commissioned the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF) to prepare the container risk assessment following a directive from the tribunal's Southern Bench.

The assessment categorised the cargo into miscellaneous goods, plastic resins and pellets, food items, and inorganic chemicals. It noted that these materials would behave differently if released into the sea. Denser substances would likely sink to the seabed, while lighter items such as foodstuffs, toy parts, and certain plastic products could float and travel with ocean currents before washing ashore.

Experts have highlighted the potential ecological consequences of such debris. A. Biju Kumar, Vice-Chancellor of Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, said plastic nurdles would contaminate the shoreline once washed ashore. He added that fish and marine mammals often mistake floating plastic pellets for food, which can cause organ damage and disrupt the marine food chain.

In response to the two shipwrecks off Kerala in 2025 — involving MSC Elsa 3 and Wan Hai 503 — officials from the Kerala State Pollution Control Board said remedial measures have been initiated. A draft Oil Spill Contingency Plan has been prepared to map the Environmental Sensitive Index along the Kerala coast and develop response-focused strategies for future incidents.