CG intensifies firefighting as blaze persists on cargo vessel
The vessel, carrying over 1.22 lakh metric tonnes of fuel and hazardous cargo, poses a significant threat to marine ecology and nearby shipping lanes as it drifts southeast within India's Exclusive Economic Zone. Currently located 42 nautical miles from Beypore, the fire has been largely contained but remains active in the vessel's inner decks and near fuel tanks.
The operation involves five CG ships, two Dornier surveillance aircraft and a helicopter, with additional support from the directorate general of shipping.
A salvage team and Indian Air Force are also assisting. In a daring operation, a CG helicopter winched five salvage team members and an aircrew diver onto the burning vessel to facilitate towing.
The ship is stable but slightly tilted to the port side. Poor weather initially hampered aerial efforts, but a Coast Guard Dornier aircraft is now airborne. Eighteen crew members were rescued, while four remain missing. Continuous monitoring and efforts to fully extinguish the fire are ongoing.
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
How the sinking of MSC Elsa 3 exposed India's maritime blind spots
How the sinking of MSC Elsa 3 exposed India's maritime blind spots PTI The Liberian container vessel, carrying marine fuel, that developed a critical 26-degree list nearly 38 nautical miles southwest of Kochi on Saturday, tilts further in the sea off the coast of Kerala, in Kochi, on Sunday, May 25, 2025. Synopsis The sinking of MSC Elsa 3, a container ship, off the coast of Kerala exposes deep systemic fault lines in India's maritime governance. By P MANOJ 12 Mins Read, Jul 01, 2025, 05:00 AM IST SHARE THIS NEWS Close Font Size Abc Small Small Abc Normal Normal Abc Large Close On the morning of May 25, a tragic sight was spotted off the coast of Kerala. The Liberian-flagged container ship 'MSC Elsa-3' capsized and sank, disappearing beneath the waves with over 640 containers, including at least a dozen carrying hazardous chemicals. What initially seemed like an isolated shipping accident soon unraveled into a troubling tale of material loss, environmental danger, and systemic vulnerability. This tragedy stands as a
New Indian Express
18 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Salvage of MSC Elsa 3 to begin in August
KOCHI: The salvage operations of MSC Elsa 3, which sank into the depths of Arabian Sea off Kerala coast, will begin in August, said sources with the Mercantile Marine Department (MMD) on Friday. Smit Salvage, the new salvage team engaged by the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), has submitted an action plan in this regard. T and T Salvage, which was initially engaged to recover the sunken vessel, stopped operations on June 12, which spread a shadow of uncertainty over the salvage operations. The fishermen community had also raised doubts that MSC was trying to wash its hands of the incident. However, sources at the Directorate General of Shipping said that though MSC is not the direct owner of Elsa 3, they cannot shrug off the responsibility as there are international conventions regarding such operations. The Liberian-flagged vessel was chartered for operations by MSC, which is a normal practice in the shipping sector. The Smit Salvage has informed that the salvage operations will be launched in August or when the weather conditions become favourable. They haven't arrived in Kochi, but have informed the MMD that they will arrive with all support facilities when the turbulence ends. Meanwhile, a team from the MSC shipping company is staying in Kochi. The captain and the crew members of the vessel are also in Kochi. The MMD principal officer, who is investigating the safety lapses behind the incident, has submitted an interim report to the DG Shipping and is waiting for the recovery of the voice data recorder to complete the probe. Meanwhile, MSC decided to cancel the contract with T and T Salvage as it lacked facilities for the operations. 'They were seeking help from the Kochi port and Coast Guard for the operations, which raised doubts that they lack the technical facility to conduct the salvage operations,' said an officer.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
3 days ago
- Business Standard
Govt proposes mandatory towing vessel at all ports for emergencies
Against the backdrop of recent shipping disasters, the Directorate General of Shipping has proposed to make it mandatory for all Indian ports, whether major or non-major, handling 10 million metric tonnes (MMT) or more of cargo annually to designate at least one tug or towing vessel for emergency response. India has witnessed serious maritime incidents along its coastline that exposed vulnerabilities in the current emergency response framework. The sinking of container ship MSC ELSA 3 in May 2025 and major fire and explosion of container ship WAN HAI 503 in June 2025, off the coast of Kerala, led to falling of several containers in waters and the release of hazardous cargo and significant environmental risk. "In view of the challenges and urgent need enumerated above and to meet the requirements of Central/State/District/Port Disaster Management, the Directorate General of Shipping hereby mandates that all Indian portswhether Major or Non-major, Public or Privatehandling 10 million metric tonnes (MMT) or more of cargo annually and/or maintaining a fleet of two or more tugs for port operations shall designate at least one tug for emergency response," India's maritime regulator said in a draft notice issued for stakeholder consultation. The designated tug must have sea-going capabilities and be appropriately equipped for emergency duties including firefighting, towing, and pollution response. The draft notice also said the designated tug must have sea-going capabilities and appropriately equipped for emergency duties including firefighting, towing, and pollution response. The draft notice said incidents of fire, machinery failure, grounding, etc., occurred around the Indian Coast, year after year, especially during the monsoon months have demonstrated the need for the urgent deployment of Tugs for towing and other functions such as Fire Fighting, supply of resources etc to the accident site toprovide timely assistance to the Indian Coast guard and Navy being the first responders India's expanding maritime trade has brought about increased vessel traffic, higher cargo volumes, and elevated navigational risks along its extensive coastline. Despite this growth, the availability of maritime salvage and emergency towing capabilities in Ports around the Indian coast remains limited. Currently, the Directorate General of Shipping, in agreement with Mumbai Port Authority and Chennai Port Authority has positioned two Seagoing Emergency Towing Vessels (ETVs) one each based at Mumbai and Chennai. Normally such ETVs are deployed as Harbour Tugs throughout the year and perform the day-to-day functions of berthing/unberthing etc. In emergency situations, the Directorate orders deployment of ETVs to the incident site which perform the duties as per the instructions of the On-Scene Commander, Indian Coast Guard. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
