Nurdle threat persists a year after MSC Elsa 3 disaster off Kerala coast
A scene from the Kannanthura coast in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. The plastic hairs that littered the coast of Kerala after the sinking of the container ship MSC Elsa 3 in 2025 continue to wash ashore with every high tidal wave that hits the shore. | Photo credit: Nirmal Harindran
As the first anniversary of the MSC Elsa 3 disaster approaches, coastal Thiruvananthapuram is still grappling with the “nurdle menace,” an environmental challenge posed by millions of tiny plastic pellets that washed ashore after the Liberian-flagged vessel sank off Kerala in May 2025.
Despite clean-up efforts immediately after the nurdla was landed, large quantities of plastic pellets are still seen on beaches in Thiruvananthapuram. For example, Kannanthura Beach north of Shanghumughum and Hawa Beach (Eve’s Beach) further south in the tourist hotspot of Kovalam have hundreds of these pellets mixed with other debris and beach sand. Coastal residents and officials from the Ministry of the Environment said the beach clean-up, which was carried out by a firm tasked with coastal rescue, had ended.
Nurdles, another name for pellets, classified as primary microplastics, are between 1mm and 5mm in diameter. These tiny pre-made plastics, made from polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride, which are high on the global plastic chain, are not themselves toxic. But their tiny size and buoyancy make them a dangerous pollutant. In the ocean, they can be eaten by fish and other marine organisms and eventually even enter the human diet.
About state inexperience
Friends of Marine Life (FML), a Thiruvananthapuram-based marine biodiversity organization, points to the persistent presence of pellets on beaches here. “The sea has become rough here now, so there is always the possibility that pellets floating in the sea will wash ashore,” said FML organizer Robert Panipilla. Given Kerala’s relative inexperience in dealing with such disasters, the state must be doubly vigilant against such threats, Mr. Panipilla said.
MSC Elsa 3 listed to one side and sank about 14.6 nautical miles off the coast of Kerala during 24 May and 25 May 2025. At the time, the ship’s cargo was reported to contain 643 containers. In the following days, several of them washed ashore in the coastal areas of Kerala, causing widespread concern. On 29 May, the Kerala government declared the shipwreck a ‘state-specific disaster’ in view of its “potentially severe environmental, social and economic impact”.
Clearing the pellets from the beaches has been a difficult task ever since. A situation report issued by the Directorate-General for Shipping in August 2025 reads: “Clean-up efforts remain active, with 600 volunteers currently involved. However, daily nurd harvests have stagnated, with cumulative yields estimated at 629-639 metric tons. Coastal reports continue due to occasional flooding.”
It remains to be seen how the coming southwest monsoon will affect nurdles landings.
A. Biju Kumar, Vice-Chancellor of the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS), emphasizes the need for monitoring as nurdles pose a persistent threat. “The non-biodegradable pellets can last for years, and depending on ocean current patterns, they can move and wash ashore,” said Dr. Biju Kumar.
Published – 22 May 2026 20:21 IST