Fishermen, operating under the banner of the All Kerala Matsya Thozhilali Federation, staged a significant protest in front of the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. Their urgent demand was for decisive action to mitigate the severe damages inflicted upon the fishing industry following the capsizing of the vessel MSC Elsa-3 off the coast of Kerala.
The wreckage of the Liberian-flagged ship has caused substantial financial losses, estimated to be in lakhs of rupees, for coastal fishermen. Debris from the sunken vessel continues to tear and destroy numerous fishing nets, exacerbating their hardships.
Protestors highlighted that neither the State nor the Union governments have taken concrete steps to clear the sunken containers and the ship’s wreckage from the sea. They also voiced strong allegations that, despite filing an admiralty suit demanding an astounding ₹9,531 crore in compensation for the damage to their livelihoods and the marine ecosystem, the State government has failed to provide sufficient evidence to support its case in the Kerala High Court.
A.A. Assis, the national president of the United Trade Union Congress (UTUC), who inaugurated the protest, asserted that the government appeared to be favoring the shipping company, even after initiating legal action. The fishermen’s comprehensive list of demands includes the swift removal of all containers and the ship’s wreckage from the ocean, adequate compensation for fishermen who sustained injuries from collisions with the submerged debris, the submission of crucial evidence to strengthen their court case, and the complete withdrawal of the proposed sea sand-mining project and any plans to grant large corporations permission for deep-sea fishing.