Container ship catches fire off Kerala coast; Navy, Coast Guard rescue 18 crew, four still missing
KOCHI: A major fire broke out on board the Singapore-flagged container vessel MV Wan Hai 503 on Monday, around 130 nautical miles (approximately 144 km) northwest of Kozhikode.
The 270-metre-long ship was sailing from Colombo to Mumbai and was expected to reach its destination on June 10.
The fire, reportedly triggered by multiple explosions, caused about 20 containers to fall into the sea. The vessel had 22 crew members on board, most of them Taiwanese nationals. Eighteen crew abandoned the ship in life rafts. Four remain missing. The ship's captain has stayed onboard, according to initial reports.
The Indian Coast Guard responded quickly, deploying aircraft to assess the situation and drop emergency supplies. Four ICG ships were diverted to the scene, and Indian Navy assets have also been mobilised. The vessel remains on fire and adrift, but it has not sunk.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has directed the Kozhikode and Ernakulam district administrations to prepare for medical support if crew members are brought ashore.
Responding to the emergency, the Western Naval Command diverted INS Surat, which had been scheduled to dock in Kochi, to assist the distressed vessel. The naval ship was rerouted at approximately 11 am, Defence PRO sources confirmed.
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New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
MV Wan Hai 503 blaze rages on; explosives confirmed, Kerala coast on Alert
KOCHI: Fire continued to rage and dark smoke with toxic fumes kept billowing from MV Wan Hai 503 on Tuesday, a day after a major blast ripped through the Singapore flagged container vessel. The Director General (DG) of Shipping released a list of 157 containers carrying hazardous cargo, but details of the explosives have not been revealed. However, sources confirmed the presence of explosives in the vessel, saying they might have triggered the blast. A top official said the shipping firm has been told that the vessel will not be allowed to dock at Indian ports and they will have to take it off Indian waters after dousing the fire. 'We have confirmed the presence of explosives on the vessel. But the list of dangerous goods released does not have these details. We believe the initial blast was triggered by the explosives and the fire spread to the inflammable cargo. Among the 18 crew members, five sustained burn injuries and were admitted to a hospital. The others are lodged in a hotel. The DG Shipping authorities will start recording their statements on Wednesday. The salvage team appointed by the shipping firm will arrive in Kochi on Wednesday morning. There are expert chemists in the team and the efforts to neutralise the toxic chemicals will be taken up based on their advice,' said a senior officer. Indian Coast Guard vessels Samudra Prahari and Sachet toiled hard pumping water at high force on the vessel to contain the flames while other ICG vessels Samarth, Abhinav and Arnvesh were, in addition to providing support, coordinating rescue operations. Indian Navy vessel INS Sutlej also joined the operations on Tuesday evening. The Dornier aircraft of Coast Guard deployed for surveillance has sighted around 10 to 15 containers drifting in the southeasterly direction. The estimated speed of the drift is 1 to 1.5 knots per hour. If unchecked, these containers may reach Kerala coast between Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram by Thursday. The contents of the floating containers remain unknown, and their potential for hazard is under assessment.
Hindustan Times
3 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Blaze, explosions continue on cargo vessel; oil advisory issued
Hectic efforts to douse the fire on the Singapore-flagged cargo ship containing hazardous and flammable cargo off the coast of Kerala continued for a second day on Tuesday, with experts warning of drifting containers and a potential oil spill. The vessel — Wan Hai 503 — was sailing from Colombo to Nhava Sheva port in Mumbai when an explosion in one of its containers sparking a fire on Monday, when it was around 70 nautical miles off Kozhikode. The Navy and the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) rescued 18 of the 22 members while four remained missing. Another official said that among the 18 rescued, two are said to be in critical condition, while four have minor injuries. Twelve others suffered varying levels of trauma. The injured were evacuated and transported to AJ Hospital in Kuntikana late on Monday night. The vessel continues to be adrift. 'The blaze reported on the cargo vessel Wan Hai 503 is continuing, though its intensity has reduced in the last few hours. The fire in the section from mid-ship to the container bay ahead of the accommodation block is continuing. At the same time, the fire in the forward bay section of the vessel is under control. Three vessels of the ICG — Samudra Prahari, Sachet and Samarth — are engaged in dousing the fire and will continue through the night,' a defence official in Kochi said on condition of anonymity. The official added: 'The ship has tilted 15 degrees to one side and remains in stable equilibrium for now.' The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has warned of drifting containers and a possible oil spill. The agency activated its Search and Rescue Aid Tool (SARAT) to track possible drift patterns of containers and oil and assessed that there was 70-80% chance of such containers drifting south-southeastwards in the next three days. 'Simulations show that the containers are likely to continue to drift in the ocean for the next three days and might take longer to reach the beach. However, caution is advised about a few containers beaching between Kozhikode and Kochi. The situation is closely monitored and updated drift directions will be provided,' INCOIS said in a statement. A cargo manifest handed over to the Kerala government by the shipping authorities and seen by HT confirmed that at least 157 containers were filled with four classes of dangerous goods, including flammable liquids and solids, toxic chemicals, pesticides, polymeric beads (plastic) and hydrazine. Defence officials have confirmed that several containers have fallen into the sea over the past couple of days during the fire. INCOIS ran its Oil Spill Trajectory System, which models the movement of a hypothetical 100-ton bunker oil spill from the vessel. Though the exact quantity of any spillage is still unknown, forecast simulations suggest the oil would drift parallel to the coastline from June 10 through June 13, with continuous monitoring underway. AM Riyas, an experienced merchant navy captain, said the priority right now was to ensure that the ship doesn't sink. 'From what we can understand, over the last few hours, the rescue ships of the ICG have been able to come near the burning ship. If the ship goes down in the sea, there will be two types of impact -- the pollution from the dangerous goods which will affect the marine ecosystem and the pollution from possible leakage of marine diesel and furnace oil. The furnace oil is just like tar and can have massive adverse effects. So all the officials need to ensure that the ship doesn't go down,' Riyas told local media. Anu Gopinath, professor and head of department of aquatic environment management at Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS), pointed out the high possibility of leakage of chemicals from the cargo containers into the sea and the impact it would have on the marine wealth. 'Since the ship is in a completely burnt state and the containers likely to have burst open, there is a high chance of the chemicals leaking into the sea. There are a lot of environmentally hazardous substances like polymeric beads, styrene (plastic), specific pesticides in liquid form and a variety of chemical compounds. The chemicals are basically organic solvents and will have a big choking effect on the fish community. Since it's currently breeding season, the leakage of chemicals will affect juvenile fish and in the long-term enter the human food chain,' said Gopinath. 'The impact of the Singapore ship fire on the marine ecosystem will no doubt be massive, much more than the MSC ELSA 3 incident,' she said. Two of the six ship crew, who were hospitalised, are currently battling critical burns in Mangaluru. Dinesh Kadam, a plastic surgeon at AJ hospital, said, 'We received six patients, all of whom have burns. But the condition of two of them are critical. One person has 30% burns and the other 40% burns. Mainly, they have airway or respiratory burns which are severe in nature. They have breathing problems, and we are giving them all the critical care and attention.'
India Gazette
3 hours ago
- India Gazette
Indian Coast Guard working to combat fire on Singapore-flagged container ship
Kochi (Kerala) [India], June 11 (ANI): The Indian Coast Guard is continuously working to combat the fire that engulfed the Singapore-flagged container ship MV Wan Hai 503. It said attempts were being made to control the vessel fire that injured several crew members. Of the 22 crew members, 18 were rescued by the Indian Navy, while four are still missing. According to the Indian Coast Guard, as of 5:00 PM on Tuesday, the flames on the container ship were reduced, as thick smoke continued to emanate. 'Indian Coast Guard ships continue to fight the fire and attempt to bring the inferno on the container ship MV WAN HAI 503 under control off Kerala coast. Visible flames have reduced, and thick smoke continues to emanate as of 1700 hours today,' the Indian Coast Guard said. Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy in India spokesperson Yu Jing on Tuesday expressed gratitude to the Indian Navy and the Mumbai Coast Guard for their prompt and professional rescue of its crew members onboard the Singapore-flagged container ship MV Wan Hai 503, which encountered an onboard explosion and fire 44 nautical miles off Kerala's Azhikkal. According to Yu Jing, Chinese and Taiwanese crew members were among those onboard MV Wan Hai. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson wished for successful search operations and speedy recovery for injured crew members. 'On June 9, MV Wan Hai 503 encountered onboard explosion and fire 44 nautical miles off Azhikkal, Kerala. Of the total 22 crew members on board, 14 are Chinese, including 6 from Taiwan. Our gratitude goes to the Indian Navy @indiannavy 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 posted on X. Four crew members were reported missing and five injured after an explosion under deck was reported onboard MV WAN HAI 503 while it was on passage from Colombo to Nhava Sheva. Indian Coast Guard ships have been deployed for firefighting and rescue operations. According to the Indian Coast Guard, four crew members were reported missing following the explosion on Monday, and five others sustained injuries. The vessel was carrying containerised cargo and had a total crew of 22 onboard. CGDO on task was diverted for assessment. Of the 18 rescued crew members of the Singapore-flagged MV Wan Hai 503, six were brought to the AJ Hospital for medical treatment post-midnight on Tuesday. Dinesh Kadam, Plastic Surgeon at AJ Hospital, said that two rescuees had critical injuries with 35 to 40 per cent burns. The Indian Naval Ship (INS) Surat, carrying the rescued crew members who sustained injuries in the vessel fire, had arrived at the New Mangalore Port Authority (NMPA), Panambur. According to Plastic Surgeon Kadam, the six rescuees are from multiple nationalities, including Chinese and Indonesian. Of the six rescued crew members, two have suffered critical injuries. 'We have received six patients. All of them have burns. Three are Chinese nationals, two are from Burma (Myanmar), and one is from Indonesia. Two are critically injured with 35-40 per cent burns. Mainly, they have airway burns, that is, respiratory burns, which are much more severe. They have breathing problems. We have to monitor closely over a few days and see how they do. Right now, we're giving all the attention and critical care,' Kadam told reporters here. According to the Indian Navy, the vessel carried 22 crew members, including eight Chinese, six Taiwanese, five Myanmarese, and three Indonesian nationals. Following the explosion and escalation of the fire, the crew abandoned the ship. The MV reported an internal container explosion and a major fire onboard. The vessel was en route from Colombo, Sri Lanka, to Nhava Sheva, Mumbai, and its expected arrival time (ETA) was June 10. 'The Flag Administration of Singapore has been formally notified. The Directorate General of Shipping (DGS), India, has instructed the ship's owners to immediately engage qualified salvors and firefighting experts,' the release stated. (ANI)
