New Delhi, November 16: Greenpeace South Asia has released a damning investigation that could reshape global conversations on corporate responsibility at sea. The 128-page report, Below Deck: The Truth Beneath What You See (Mediterranean Shipping Company – MSC), draws on a decade’s worth of inspection records, port detentions, court filings and verified documentation, alleging a long-running pattern of safety failures and environmental neglect by the world’s largest container shipping line.
The timing is significant. The report comes six months after the sinking of MSC ELSA 3, a Liberia-flagged vessel owned by MSC, off the Kerala coast. The wreck spilled oil and nearly 1,400 tonnes of plastic pellets into the Arabian Sea. Greenpeace argues this disaster was not an isolated accident but the predictable result of corporate decisions that prioritised profits while shifting risks to countries with weaker enforcement. Released simultaneously in Delhi and Geneva, the report links MSC’s rapid expansion to practices that keep benefits in the global north while pushing hazardous operations to the global south.
A Two-Tier Shipping Empire
According to the investigation, MSC operated a dual fleet structure between 2015 and 2025. Its modern, high-compliance mega ships dominated major global routes, while ageing vessels were deployed across Asia, Africa and Latin America. Many of these older ships carried flags of convenience in Liberia and Panama, jurisdictions known for low taxes and minimal inspection requirements.
Greenpeace found that once these ships exited European supervisory waters, safety standards declined sharply. Port logs from Africa and Asia repeatedly flagged corrosion, fire hazards and faulty navigation systems. The recurring nature of these deficiencies, the report states, indicates systemic neglect rather than isolated oversight lapses.
A Greenpeace researcher quoted in the study said the company had “drifted into invisibility” by shifting high-risk vessels to regions where regulatory enforcement is weak and consequences are slow.
A History of Accidents
The report also traces a troubling chain of MSC-linked accidents over the past decade. The MSC Flaminia explosion in 2012 killed three crew members. The MSC Daniela caught fire off Colombo in 2017. The MSC Messina suffered a major engine room fire in 2021. Despite repeated assurances of reforms, Greenpeace concludes that MSC failed to address underlying structural issues.
The tipping point, the group says, was the sinking of the MSC ELSA 3 on May 25, 2025. The 33-year-old vessel was carrying hazardous materials, diesel, furnace oil and a massive consignment of nurdles plastic pellets used in manufacturing. The ship had earlier been detained in Rotterdam in 2010 for 21 safety deficiencies, and multiple warnings had been issued over corrosion and fire hazards. Yet it continued to operate.
When MSC ELSA 3 went down off Thottappally, oil slicks spread rapidly and nurdles washed ashore along a 200-km stretch between Kollam and Kozhikode. Fishing collapsed overnight. Beaches turned white