Supreme Court issues notice on plea in sinking of MSC Elsa 3

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The containers from the ship MSC Elsa 3 that sank in the Kochi outer have washed ashore near Kollam Sakthikulangara coast. File. | Photo Credit: C. Sureshkumar

The Supreme Court issued notice on Monday (September 21, 2026) on a special leave petition filed by R. Saji Surendran, whose cargo sank with the container vessel, MV MSC Elsa 3, off the Kerala coast in May 2025.

A Bench headed by Justice K.V. Viswanathan sought a response from Elsa 3 Maritime Inc., the company that owned the vessel. The incident happened while the vessel was sailing from Vizhinjam to Kochi.

Mr. Surendran was represented by senior advocates V. Chitambaresh, and V. J. Mathew, advocate Joy Thattil Ittoop, and advocate-on-record Anu Bhuvanachandran. He had been shipping a consignment of cashew when the incident occurred. The State of Kerala has also been arraigned as a respondent.

The core of the dispute is the extent of liability of the shipowners, and the statute which would govern the litigation.

The petitioner has argued that the claim cannot be brought as an independent admiralty suit under the Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Act, 2017. The Kerala High Court has previously held that the shipowners’ action for limitation of liability was maintainable as an admiralty suit.

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