Massive fire aboard ship: ICG ships conduct fire fighting and boundary cooling
Kochi, June 10 (UNI) Indian Coast Guard ships Samudra Prahari and Sachet are conducting firefighting operations and boundary cooling on Tuesday following the Singapore-flagged ship Wan Hai 503 caught fire off Kerala coast the previous day.
"Fires & explosions persist from mid‑ships to the container bay ahead of the accommodation block. Forward‑bay fire is now under control, though thick smoke remains. Vessel is listing approx 10–15° to port. More containers reported overboard," according to a message by Defence PRO on 'X.'
"IndiaCoastGuard ships Samudra Prahari & Sachet are conducting Fi‑Fi operations & boundary cooling. #ICG Ship Samarth along with salvors, is being deployed from #Kochi. Further updates will follow," the message added.
"INS Surat disembarked the crew yesterday night at about 2330 hrs.
Fire fighting by CG ships Sachet and Samudra Prahari continued the whole night.
Coast Guard Dornier has taken off this morning for an aerial survey. The CG ship Samarth will sail out today along with Salvage master to the incident site," it added.
On Monday, at around 0930 hrs, the Indian Coast Guard received a distress alert from the container regarding an explosion and subsequent fire onboard one of the containers, 88 Nautical miles from the coast of Beypore.
The vessel had departed the port of Colombo, Sri Lanka, with 22 crew onboard on June 6, 2025, for the Nhava Sheva Port, Mumbai, India, with an estimated time of arrival June 9, 2025.
On receipt of information, ICG assets were diverted immediately and are coordinating rescue operations for the crew. As of 1240 hrs, the resulting fire has been reported to have spread to other containers, and the crew have abandoned the vessel into life rafts.
ICG Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, Mumbai diverted MV One Marvel, which is in area. Of the 18 crew in lifeboat, one is reported to have sustained serious injuries. 04 crew (02 Taiwanese, 01 Indonesian and 01 Myanmarese) are missing from the time of explosion and their fate is being ascertained by assets deployed. ICG Dornier aircraft is maintaining overhead the vessel for real-time assessment.
The vessel is presently adrift, and firefighting efforts by the Indian Coast Guard have commenced to bring the situation under control.
The details of the cargo onboard are being ascertained to determine the nature of the fire and the potential risks involved during firefighting operations.
ICG is maintaining coordination with DG Shipping, state administration and the vessel owners to devise the response plan for the evolving situation. At present, the vessel is far from shore and all efforts will be undertaken to deter the vessel from closing in to the coast in coordination with stakeholders.
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Hindustan Times
3 hours ago
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