File photo of the MSC Elsa 3 shipwreck
Kochi : The high court on Tuesday permitted a special committee of govt officers to resume negotiations with Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) over environmental damage and compensation following the capsizing of MSC Elsa 3 off the Kerala coast in 2025, recalling an earlier restraint on its functioning. In its order dated June 19, 2025, the court had deferred the committee’s negotiations. The bench adjourned the petitions to Nov 24.
A bench of Justices V Raja Vijayaraghavan and K V Jayakumar issued the order on a batch of PILs filed by former MP T N Prathapan and others, seeking adequate compensation for the fishing community and other stakeholders affected by the incident. The committee has been tasked with assessing the cost of restoring the coastline and marine environment, addressing economic losses suffered by fishermen and assessing environmental degradation. The petitioners later sought a modification of the order to allow the committee to resume negotiations, assessments and remediation work, without concluding any final settlement or binding agreement. Observing that the circumstances that had led to the committee’s functioning being deferred no longer existed in the same manner, and that the state had no serious objection, the court permitted the committee to resume its functions in accordance with its objectives and applicable govt orders. The court also observed that MSC’s claims in the admiralty suit, including those relating to the cost of the multibeam survey, would be considered by the court concerned in accordance with law.