2 days ago
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.'
