Kerala has submitted a draft Oil Spill Contingency Plan (OSCP) to the National Green Tribunal following two shipwrecks off its coast in 2025 involving the vessels MSC Elsa 3 and MV Wan Hai 503, which posed significant risks to the marine environment. The Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), tasked with formulating the plan, delivered the draft on April 20, 2026, after the tribunal took suo motu cognisance of the environmental damage caused by the sinking of MSC Elsa 3, which carried hazardous cargo including calcium carbide and released plastic nurdles onto southern beaches.

The OSCP covers oil spills within 12 nautical miles of Kerala’s 590-km coastline and extends 40 km inland along river systems, mapping environmentally sensitive zones and defining response protocols for spills from tankers and ships visiting state ports. It includes guidelines for crisis management, wildlife response, shoreline cleanup operations, and the chain of command during emergencies, along with inventories of available equipment and personnel across nine oil spill-prone districts.

Developed in alignment with the National Oil Disaster Contingency Plan (2015, 2018, 2024), the draft incorporates hydrodynamic modelling, oil spill simulations, marine sensitivity indexing, and net environmental benefit analysis. The KSPCB stated the framework will standardize emergency responses, assign inter-agency responsibilities, and identify high-risk areas, including fishing zones and ecologically vulnerable sites.

The draft will be reviewed by a committee of experts before being submitted to the Indian Coast Guard, the central agency for marine pollution response, for final approval. The final OSCP will be published after receiving all necessary clearances.