Divers from the Thiruvananthapuram-based civil society organisation Friends of Marine Life, and Scuba Cochin found the debris of a container in the waters off the Kovalam Coast.

The container debris belongs to the ship MSC Elsa 3, which sank off Kochi on May 25, 2025.

The same was confirmed from the code name on the container, which showed that it belonged to a leasing company which gives containers to maritime businesses.

The discovery was made after divers received a tip-off from fishermen who collected clams and mussels in the area. They spoke of something buried in the sand.

Robert Panipilla, who was one of the divers, said that the container is submerged in the sands, wedged between rocks in the seabed at a depth of 6.5 m. He added that it was the rock formation of the Mukkam hills, which extends to the sea.

Part of the container was covered with barnacles and seaweed. The divers removed the latter to read the code.

They suspect that the container fell into the sea from an MSC ship, and authorities should confirm it from the cargo manifest.

After the sinking of the vessel, many containers and pellets washed up on the coast, leading to pollution and great inconvenience for the fishermen.

The company appointed to remove the wreck began its work and extracted the fuel. MSC also removed the containers and a considerable amount of plastic pellets which accumulated on the shore.