
4 missing, 5 injured after fire breaks out on Singapore-flagged ship off Kerala coast
KOCHI: At least four crew members are missing and five others injured after a fire broke out aboard a Singapore-flagged container ship off the coast of Kerala on Monday, a Defence PRO said.
The incident occurred on the MV Wan Hai 503, which was initially reported to have suffered an explosion. However, officials later confirmed that it was an underdeck fire.
The Maritime Operations Centre in Mumbai reported the fire to its Kochi counterpart around 10:30 am.
The 270-metre-long vessel, with a draught of 12.5 metres, had departed from Colombo on June 7 and was scheduled to arrive in Mumbai on June 10.
"On 09 Jun 25, at about 1030 h, MOC (Koc) received an information from MOC (Mbi) about a reported underdeck fire onboard MV Wan Hai 503.
The vessel is a Singapore Flag Container ship, 270 m long and draught 12.5m with LPC Colombo. The vessel departed Colombo on 07 Jun 25 with NPC Mumbai, 10 Jun," the communication from the PRO read.
He said that in response, the Indian Navy diverted INS Surat, which had been scheduled to dock in Kochi, to provide immediate assistance.
The vessel's course was altered at 11 am following instructions from the Western Naval Command.
Additionally, preparations are under way to deploy a Navy Dornier aircraft from INS Garuda naval air station in Kochi to evaluate conditions and manage support operations.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Fire continues, more containers fall from Singapore-flagged vessel
Kochi: Fire continued onboard the Singapore-flagged vessel MV Wan Hai 503 on Tuesday, even as Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ships persisted in efforts to douse the blaze. The intensity of the fire reduced by Tuesday evening, but the density of the smoke has since increased, said an official source. The vessel, adrift 44 nautical miles off the Azhikkal coast, has listed approximately 10 to 15 degrees to port and more containers have reportedly fallen overboard, ICG said. While 18 crew members were rescued and brought to Mangaluru late Monday, four remain unaccounted for. The crew included eight Chinese, six Taiwanese, five Myanmarese and three Indonesian nationals. Among the rescued, two are reported to be in critical condition, while four sustained minor injuries. Meanwhile, Chinese Embassy in India spokesperson Yu Jing expressed gratitude to Indian Navy and Coast Guard for their prompt and professional rescue of the crew members. The vessel was en route from Colombo, Sri Lanka, to Nhava Sheva, Mumbai, when it encountered an onboard explosion on Monday. According to its cargo manifest, the ship is carrying "dangerous" cargo as per International Maritime Organisation (IMO) classification in as many as 157 containers, which include flammable, spontaneously combustible substances and toxic chemicals. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Pinga-Pinga e HBP? Tome isso 1x ao dia se tem mais de 40 anos Portal Saúde do Homem Clique aqui Undo Fire and explosions have continued from the midship area to the container bay ahead of the accommodation block. The fire in the forward bay is under control, though thick smoke remains, ICG said. ICG ships Samudra Prahari and Sachet have been conducting firefighting and boundary cooling operations since Monday. ICG ship Samarth, along with salvors, joined the efforts on Tuesday. Official sources said the three vessels would continue operations overnight, while a Coast Guard Dornier aircraft is conducting aerial surveillance. Indian Navy's INS Sutlej, which joined the search and rescue efforts on Monday, proceeded on Tuesday to conduct survey operations of the Liberian-flagged MSC Elsa 3, which sank off Thottappally in Alappuzha on May 25. A high-level virtual meeting of various stakeholders was convened to assess the situation. Representatives from the Directorate General of Shipping, Ministry of Ports, Indian Coast Guard, Indian Navy, shipowners, salvors, Kerala Maritime Board, State Pollution Control Board and State Disaster Management Authority participated in the meeting. "Similar meetings have been held every other day since the sinking of MSC Elsa 3. Tuesday's meeting reviewed the fire on MV Wan Hai 503. The vessels of the Indian Navy and Coast Guard are doing their level best, but a positive outcome is highly unlikely as the fire continues to rage and spread. Since there are containers drifting around the vessel, firefighting vessels are struggling to pump water from a close range. At the same time, there are flammable substances in the containers," said an official source. Kerala Maritime Board chairman N S Pillai said that the state govt currently has no major role other than to facilitate ongoing efforts. The govt's role would primarily involve mitigating the impact of the fallen containers, which may reach the shore, cause pollution and affect the fisherfolk. (With agency inputs)


The Hindu
4 hours ago
- The Hindu
Threat of pollution from ships: meeting of shipping, defence agencies held
Amid the raging fire on board the Singapore-flagged ship M.V. Wan Hai 503 off the Beypore coast since Monday (June 9), the sinking of Liberia-flagged ship MSC Elsa 3 off the Alappuzha coast on May 25, and the looming threat of marine pollution from the two vessels that were carrying hazardous and inflammable cargo, a meeting was held in Kochi on Tuesday (June 10) to take stock of the emerging situation. The attendees included officials of the Directorate General of Shipping, Mercantile Marine department, Kerala State Disaster Management Authority, Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard, and the Kerala Maritime Board as well as representatives of the Government of Tamil Nadu, it is learnt. Officials of the Directorate General of Shipping said the priority was to douse the fire on Wan Hai 503 and to trace her missing crew members. Efforts by the Coast Guard ships to contain the fire have been affected by its spread to more areas of the vessel and the threat posed by floating containers that fell off the ship. This would be followed by efforts to curb pollution around the vessel and in places to which the pollutants spread. After taking stock of the situation, measures to salvage the cargo will be taken, in tandem with the ship's owner firm and the other agencies concerned. Officials of agencies under the Kerala government offered all help to mitigate the situation, it is learnt.


India Today
5 hours ago
- India Today
China thanks India for rescuing crew of Singapore-flagged ship that caught fire
A day after the Indian Navy successfully rescued the crew of a Singapore-flagged vessel after it caught fire off the Kerala coast, China expressed gratitude to of the Chinese Embassy in India, Yu Jing, thanked the Indian Navy and Mumbai Coast Guard for their prompt and professional rescue of the crew, which included 14 Chinese nationals."Our gratitude goes to the Indian Navy and the Mumbai Coast Guard for their prompt and professional rescue. We wish further search operations successful and the injured crew members speedy recovery," Yu Jing wrote on On Monday morning, a Singapore-flagged container ship, MV Wan Hai 503, with 22 crew members on board caught fire following an explosion off the coast of Beypore in Kozhikode, Kerala. According to Yu Jing, the vessel had 22 crew members on board, including 14 Chinese nationals, six of whom are from Indian Navy, in a swift response, diverted INS Surat, which was scheduled to dock in Kochi, to provide immediate assistance. The Indian Coast Guard deployed multiple assets, including ICGS Rajdoot from off New Mangalore, ICGS Arnvesh from off Kochi, and ICGS Sachet from off Agatti. The CG Dornier aircraft on task was also diverted for assessment. The forward bay fire was brought under control, but thick smoke continued to rise from the vessel.18 crew members were recovered and brought to Mangaluru late on Monday, while four remain on Tuesday, issued an oil spill advisory while a Chinese engineer rescued from the burning vessel suffered critical injuries, PTI InMust Watch