Thiruvananthapuram, May 24 (IANS) The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) on Saturday has sent out a warning that the Indian Coast Guard authorities have informed about a spillover of hazardous materials from a ship in the deep sea off the Kerala coast, an official said on Saturday. Notably, a container ship capsized while sailing towards Kochi.

The incident took place on Saturday about 38 nautical miles (around 70 km) off Kochi Coast when the ship with a Liberian flag was on its way from Vizhinjam to Kochi. The ship was expected to reach Kochi by Saturday evening.

The ship was carrying marine gas oil and very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) capsized and due to it about 10 containers containing these oil got thrown into the sea.

The VLSFO is a marine fuel with a maximum sulphur content of 0.5 per cent (mass). This type of fuel is crucial for compliance with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) 2020 regulations

Speaking to the media persons, the member secretary of the KSDMA Sekhar Kuriakose said he was informed of the capsize by the Coast Guard.

“Soon I got in touch with our state authorities and I was asked to report this to the media. The warning is none should touch this oil spill in case if it touches the coast line of our state,” said Kuriakose.

The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) is a statutory non-autonomous body under the Chairmanship of the Chief Minister of Kerala.

Meanwhile, reports also suggested that of the 24 crew members, nine officials of the ship has been rescued, while the Coast Guard rescue operations were underway.

The ship was supposed to touch the Cochin Port later in the day when the accident happened.

More details regarding the capsize and the container ship are awaited.

–IANS

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