Kerala Court Releases MSC Vessel After Rs 12.28bn Guarantee

12 Jan 2026 CW Team

The owner of container ship MSC Elsa 3, which sank off the Kerala coast in May 2025, has deposited a compensation amount of Rs 12.28 billion with the Kerala High Court in the form of a bank guarantee. Following the deposit, the court permitted the release of its sister vessel, MSC Akiteta-2.

The sister vessel, which had been detained off Vizhinjam under a court order dated November 11, has since sailed from the port. A Bench headed by Justice M. A. Abdul Hakhim posted the matter relating to compensation for further hearing on February 13.

In September, the High Court had reduced the security amount payable by the ship’s owners from Rs 95.31 billion to Rs 12.28 billion, modifying its earlier order of July 7. The original order had been passed in an admiralty suit filed by the Kerala government, pursuant to which MSC Akiteta-2 was detained at Vizhinjam.

The state government had sought compensation of Rs 95.31 billion, primarily citing marine and coastal pollution and losses suffered by fishing communities following the sinking of the vessel. Acting on the claim, the court had ordered the conditional arrest of the sister ship until the security amount was furnished.

In its earlier observations, the court held that the discharge of oil from the vessel into the sea had been established and that such discharge posed a serious risk of environmental pollution.

Infrastructure Transport

12 Jan 2026

Dhalbhumgarh Airport Faces 150-km Rule Hurdle

The issue has resurfaced following a recent statement by Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, who said that under existing aviation policy, a new greenfield airport is generally not permitted within an aerial distance of 150 kilometres of an operational civilian airport. He added, however, that if a formal proposal is submitted, its impact on the existing airport can be examined and relaxations may be considered on a case-by-case basis. While the clarification has revived some hope for Dhalbhumgarh, it has also underlined the scale of the technical challenge facing the project. Unde..

Stakeholders Seek Parallel Ops For Vizag Airports

With road and metro rail links to Bhogapuram still several years away, stakeholders in north Andhra Pradesh have renewed demands to continue civil operations at INS Dega even after the commissioning of Bhogapuram International Airport. The new airport is expected to begin commercial operations from June. Officials said close to 80 per cent of the airport infrastructure at Bhogapuram, including the terminal building and internal approach roads, has already been completed. However, inadequate external connectivity remains a key concern. Making a case for parallel operations, Andhra Pradesh Air ..

Govt To Roll Out V2V Tech To Cut Road Crashes

In an effort to curb road accidents, particularly in low-visibility conditions such as dense fog, the government is set to roll out vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication technology that will allow cars to exchange real-time data and alert drivers to potential dangers. The announcement was made by Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari after the 43rd meeting of the Transport Development Council. The technology involves installing an on-board unit (OBU) in vehicles, enabling wireless data exchange between nearby cars. This will allow vehicles to share information such as spee..