Singapore ship catches fire off Kerala coast, crew members missing
Singapore's container ship MV Wan Hai 503 caught fire in the Arabian Sea near the Kerala coast. This ship, which was going from Sri Lanka to Mumbai, was carrying flammable waste. In this incident, 10-15 containers fell into the sea, which contained flammable and toxic substances. Four crew members are missing while 18 have been rescued. The Indian Navy and Coast Guard are engaged in rescue operations.
There was a fire on Monday morning on the Singapore container vessel MV Wan Hai 503 in the Arabian Sea, off the Kerala coast. The enormous cargo vessel, which departed from Sri Lanka for Mumbai, is on fire even after several hours. Four crew members on this vessel are missing. 10-15 containers from this ship have fallen into the ocean carrying flammable waste. At the time of writing the news, ships of the Indian Navy and Coast Guard are engaged in rescue operations.
The top official of Kerala's Azhikkal port said on Monday that the containers of the cargo ship are loaded with dangerous substances. This includes flammable solids, liquids, and poisonous substances. These containers contain third-class, 4.1 class solid flammable substances. Also, there are 4.6 classes of toxic substances. This is the second such incident near the coast of Kerala in the last month.
Port officer Captain Arun Kumar PK said that ten to fifteen containers had fallen from the burning ship in the initial incident itself. A spokesperson of the Defense Department said that there were a total of 22 crew members on this foreign ship, out of which 18 have left the ship to save their lives, and they have been safely evacuated from the sea through the resources of the Indian Navy and Coast Guard. While the search for four missing people is going on.
"The ship is currently engulfed in black smoke and is floating in the ocean," the spokesperson said. Five ICG ships including Indian Coast Guard ships Sachet, Arnavesh, Samudra Prahari, Abhinav, Rajdoot, and C-144, are involved in the rescue operation.
Officials said the ship MV Wan Hai 503 caught fire following the blast. The fire was first reported inland at around 10.30 am by the Maritime Operations Centre in Mumbai to its counterparts in Kochi. The 270-metre-long ship was headed towards Mumbai. The ship had left Colombo for NPC Mumbai on June 7. To rescue it, the Indian Navy diverted INS Surat, which was scheduled to dock in Kochi, to provide immediate assistance.
The Western Naval Command redirected the ship at 11 am. A sortie of a naval Dornier aircraft is also being planned from INS Garuda in Kochi to assess the situation and coordinate support.
