Kerala: Supreme Court Halts Proceedings In MSC Elsa 3 Case! Read Details

The Supreme Court ordered a status quo in the MSC Elsa 3 ship sinking case. Cashew importers want compensation after the ship sank off the Kerala coast. The High Court will pause the matter until November 13.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court ordered a status quo in the Kerala High Court regarding the MSC Elsa 3 ship sinking case. Cashew importers are demanding compensation after the ship sank in the Arabian Sea off the Kerala coast. The court told the authorities to maintain the status quo until November 13. Justices KV Viswanathan and Arun Palli passed this order. The Supreme Court also sent a notice to the shipping company. R Saji Surendran from Mangalath Cashews and Sans Cashew Pvt Ltd filed these petitions. They owned the imported cashews on that sunken ship. Senior advocates V Chidambaresh and VJ Mathew, along with advocates Joy Thattil Ittoop and Anu Bhuvanachandran, represented the cashew owners. Senior advocates Neeraj Kishan Kaul and Prashant S Pratap appeared for the shipping company.

The MSC Elsa 3 Ship Accident

The MSC Elsa 3 ship sank in the Arabian Sea back in May 2025. Several containers fell straight into the water. The feeder cargo ship actually started its journey from Vizhinjam port. It met with this massive accident in the outer seas of Kochi. Rough weather caused the ship to tilt, and the containers just dropped into the sea. The Liberian ship tilted around 70 km southwest of the coast. The State Disaster Management Authority quickly issued a high alert because those containers held dangerous chemicals. The ship carried more than 400 containers at the time of the accident.