by Lloyd's List
19 August 2025 (Lloyd's List) - INDIA has detained two more Mediterranean Shipping Co vessels, as the courts seek to enforce compensation claims topping the billion dollar mark in the wake of the recent MSC Elsa III (IMO: 9123221) casualty.
The ships have been named in media reports as MSC Makoto II (IMO: 9236212) and MSC Palermo (IMO: 9964223), both held in Vizhinjam last week. The latter was subsequently released after MSC representatives posted a bond.
The move comes after three other ships associated with the company were held earlier in relation to the same legal dispute.
MSC Elsa III, which was carrying 13 containers of dangerous cargoes including calcium carbide and plastic nurdles, sank 33 nautical miles off the coast of Kochi in May.
The fallout included extensive marine and coastal pollution, a large bill for remediation measures and loss of livelihood for local fishers.
Sri Lanka has also lodged a claim, after debris washed up on its shores, which are more than 500 miles away from the scene of the sinking.
Ongoing salvage efforts have been hampered by bad weather. But there are plans for a saturation diving effort to tap and pump the fuel tanks, which have already been capped after starting to weep small quantities of oil.
On top of the Indian government’s demand for reimbursements, amounting to about $1.1bn, several other claims have been brought privately by shippers who had cargo on board the ship, as well as fishing interests and others.
MSC has counter-filed a bid to cap liability at just $14m, citing the provisions of India’s 1958 Merchant Shipping Act and 2015 Merchant Shipping Rules, as well as the International Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, widely known as the CLC, to which India is a signatory.
The tonnage-based formula set down in the CLC would limit its liability to the local currency equivalent of $14.2m.
Lawyers for the company are also asking that all the claims be rolled together into a single case.
According to P&I sources, MSC Elsa III’s protection & indemnity cover is split between four clubs under a quota-sharing arrangement designed to ensure risk diversification. NorthStandard is acting as the claims lead.
