Sri Lankan authorities have collected plastic pellets equivalent to 43 containers that washed ashore following the sinking of the container ship MSC Elsa 3 off Kerala's coast, with cleanup efforts intensifying during monsoon season.

The Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) reported that cleanup operations have recovered plastic pellets from the Liberian-flagged container ship MSC Elsa 3, which sank in May 2025 after developing a water leak approximately 38 nautical miles off the coast of Kerala, India. According to MEPA Chairman Samantha Gunasekara, the collected materials equivalent to over 43 containers represent debris from the vessel, which was carrying 643 containers at the time of the incident.

The pellets continue to reach Sri Lankan shores across an extensive stretch of coastline, spanning from the Jaffna islands southward to Galle. Authorities note that the arrival of monsoon rains has exacerbated the situation, bringing additional materials ashore. To address the ongoing cleanup, approximately 1,800 workers have been deployed, with the shipping company responsible for the vessel providing financial support for the recovery operations.

Beyond immediate cleanup efforts, Sri Lanka is pursuing compensation for environmental damage. MEPA has established an expert committee tasked with calculating the economic and ecological impact of the spill on the nation's marine ecosystem. The committee held a meeting recently as it works to quantify losses for potential legal claims against the shipping company or other responsible parties.