Latest news with #WANHAI503
Dubai Eye
4 hours ago
- General
- Dubai Eye
Explosions, fires on cargo ship off India's Kerala coast
Multiple explosions and fires erupted on a cargo ship bound for India's financial capital Mumbai on Monday, causing 40 containers to fall into the Arabian Sea and forcing several crew members to jump overboard to escape the flames, officials said. The Singapore-flagged WAN HAI 503 met with an accident about 144 km off the coast of the southern Indian state of Kerala, said Shekhar Kuriakose, secretary of the state's disaster management authority. "According to preliminary information... there were 22 workers on board the ship... 18 jumped into the sea and are in rescue boats. Efforts are underway to rescue them," he said, adding that the vessel was not "currently sinking". Pictures and videos shared by the Indian coast guard on X showed a thick plume of black smoke rising from the ship, and some containers lying open and in disarray near the point where the smoke was escaping. "Vessel is presently on fire and adrift," a defence ministry public relations officer said on X. Officials did not disclose the nature of the cargo in the containers, nor what caused the explosions. A container vessel sank in another accident off Kerala last month, releasing 100 cargo containers into the Arabian Sea. The directorate general of shipping said on Friday there were no reports of oil pollution because of that incident.
Express Tribune
4 hours ago
- General
- Express Tribune
Dozens of containers lost at sea as fire erupts on Mumbai-bound ship
The Singapore-flagged WAN HAI 503 met with an accident about 144 kilometers off the coast of the southern Indian state of Kerala. PHOTO: DW GERMANY Listen to article Indian Navy launched a rescue operation after explosions and fires erupted on a cargo ship bound for the country's financial capital Mumbai on Monday, officials and local media reported. The explosion caused some 40 containers to fall into the Arabian Sea, and forced several crew members to jump overboard to escape the fire, local broadcaster NDTV reported, citing a Defense Ministry spokesperson. The Singapore-flagged WAN HAI 503 met with an accident about 144 kilometers (90 miles) off the coast of the southern Indian state of Kerala. According to the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority, the vessel with 22 crew members on board was carrying over 650 containers. Four crew members remained unaccounted for, while the remaining 18 have been rescued, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said in a statement. Some of the crew members have received injuries, according to the MPA. The Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy are assisting the crew and conducting search and rescue operations for the four missing individuals, the statement added. The 270-meter-long vessel, with a draft of 12.5 meters, had left Sri Lankan capital Colombo on June 7 and was expected to arrive in Mumbai on June 10. The navy said that measures to airlift the crew were adopted instantly following the instructions from the higher authorities.
The Print
6 hours ago
- General
- The Print
Singapore-flagged container ship catches fire off Kerala coast in 2nd maritime accident in two weeks
The KSDMA said, in a statement, that multiple explosions and fires had occurred on board the ship. Of the 22 crew members, 18 jumped into the sea and are currently in lifeboats. It added that the ship had not sunk and remained adrift, although 20 containers had fallen into the sea. The container vessel, WAN HAI 503, en route from Colombo to Mumbai, caught fire approximately 144 km northwest of Kozhikode, according to the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA). Thiruvananthapuram: A Singapore-flagged container vessel caught fire off the Kerala coast on Monday, the second maritime accident in two weeks after a container ship sank off the state's coast, raising fresh concerns about maritime safety and environmental risks. The statement added that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan directed the KSDMA to instruct the district collectors of Ernakulam and Kozhikode to make necessary arrangements to provide medical care to the crew members once they were brought ashore. 'We need to get more information from the Coast Guard. As of now, we don't have any details regarding the potential impact on the Kerala coastline. If such a situation arises, the KSDMA will take necessary precautionary measures,' Dr. Sekhar Lukose Kuriakose, member secretary of the KSDMA, told the media. Kochi Defence PRO Atul Pillai confirmed to ThePrint that the Indian Navy has diverted INS Surat to the site, and a Navy Dornier aircraft sortie was launched from the naval air station INS Garuda in Kochi. The Indian Coast Guard has also deployed a Dornier aircraft for rescue operations and assessment. The incident comes just two weeks after a Liberian-flagged container ship, MSC ELSA 3, capsized off the Kerala coast. The vessel, which was en route to Kochi from Vizhinjam, began tilting on 24 May and sank the following day, about 4.6 nautical miles off the Thottappally spillway in Alappuzha. While no major oil spill was reported, plastic pellets, cashews, wood and other debris began washing up on beaches in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Authorities are still working to contain and clean up the material, especially along southern Kerala's coastline, along with water sampling. (Edited by Sugita Katyal) Also Read: Not just oil, capsized Liberian ship poses another environmental threat. It's all over Kerala & TN coasts
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
At least 4 missing after multiple explosions and fires reported on cargo ship off India's Kerala coast
At least four crew members were missing and five others injured after fires broke out and explosions heard aboard a Singapore‑flagged container ship off the coast of India's southern state of Kerala. The incident occurred around 10.30 am local time (5.00 am GMT) on Monday aboard the MV Wan Hai 503, a 270‑metre cargo vessel travelling from Colombo, Sri Lanka to Mumbai, India's commercial capital. The ship was located roughly 130 nautical miles (240km) west of Beypore, a port town in the southern state of Kerala, when explosions were reported from below deck, prompting a large-scale rescue operation by the Indian Navy and coast guard. Eighteen crew members initially abandoned the ship into life rafts. Defence officials confirmed that the Indian Navy and Coast Guard coordinated to rescue all 18 from the sea. Quick response by @IndiaCoastGuard after explosion on #Singapore flagged MV #WANHAI503, 130 NM NW of #Kerala coast.➡️ #ICG aircraft assessed the scene & dropped air-droppable ➡️ 04 #ICG ships diverted for rescue.#MaritimeSafety #ICG #SearchAndRescue — Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) June 9, 2025 One of the rescued crew later succumbed to injuries, local officials told The Times of India. Four crew members still unaccounted for include nationals from Taiwan, Indonesia and Myanmar, according to local maritime authorities. More details to follow.
Khaleej Times
10 hours ago
- General
- Khaleej Times
India: Multiple explosions, fires erupt on Kerala cargo ship
Multiple explosions and fires erupted on a cargo ship bound for India's financial capital Mumbai on Monday, causing 40 containers to fall into the Arabian Sea and forcing several crew members to jump overboard to escape the flames, officials said. The Singapore-flagged WAN HAI 503 met with an accident about 144 km off the coast of the southern Indian state of Kerala, said Shekhar Kuriakose, secretary of the state's disaster management authority. "According to preliminary information ... there were 22 workers on board the ship ... 18 jumped into the sea and are in rescue boats. Efforts are underway to rescue them," he said, adding that the vessel was not "currently sinking". Pictures and videos shared by the Indian coast guard on X showed a thick plume of black smoke rising from the ship, and some containers lying open and in disarray near the point where the smoke was escaping. "Vessel is presently on fire and adrift," a defence ministry public relations officer said on X. Officials did not disclose the nature of the cargo in the containers, nor what caused the explosions. A container vessel sank in another accident off Kerala last month, releasing 100 cargo containers into the Arabian Sea. The directorate general of shipping said on Friday there were no reports of oil pollution because of that incident. (Reporting by Jose Devasia. Writing by Sakshi Dayal. Editing by Mark Potter)
