THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Liberian cargo ship that sank in the Arabian Sea may not have gone down on its own but could have been deliberately sunk, alleges Charles George, the State President of the Kerala Matsya Thozhilali Aikya Vedi. The ship in question is the MSC ELSA-3, which sank near Kochi. He claims that the mystery surrounding the incident has not yet been resolved.

He further stated that certain aspects emerging now raise suspicions that the ship may have been deliberately sunk. "Constructing such a ship would cost at least Rs 400 crore. The sunken ship was reportedly 28 years old and had exceeded its operational life by three years. In Japan, a ship’s service life is typically limited to 15 years. The shipping company had reportedly planned to send the ship for dry docking and bring in a new vessel starting next week. It was in this context that the ship sank," Charles said.

"Since the ship was insured, the company would receive a significant amount in compensation. Salvaging the vessel would be extremely difficult, so the possibility of abandoning the salvage mission is high. There are also questions about the ship’s fitness," he said.

He added that before a ship sets sail, the Mercantile Marine Department is responsible for verifying its seaworthiness, which apparently was not done in this case.

He emphasised the need to investigate how a ship tilted just 26 degrees could sink within 12 hours. "Normally, ships are designed to withstand waves as high as 15 meters, as encountered in the Mediterranean Sea. The vessel reportedly had 623 containers on board. Proper documentation should have been provided at the time of loading," he said.

Charles also called for an investigation into whether the protocols for handling hazardous materials were followed, both on the ship and at the port.