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Khaleej Times
14-06-2025
- General
- Khaleej Times
Watch: Indian Navy pull off daring mission on cargo ship burning for 5 days
The Indian Navy has successfully lowered down a salvage team onboard the distressed vessel MV Wan Hai 503, which has been on fire since June 9. Towing operations of the vessel have commenced. The salvage team was winched down the vessel on June 13, amidst challenging weather & sea conditions, and fire onboard, the Indian Navy said in a post, sharing photos and videos from the operation. In a daring operation, #IndianNavy successfully undertook aerial insertion of the salvage team onboard distressed vessel MV Wan Hai 503, which has been on fire since #09Jun 25. The salvage team, which embarked the Seaking helicopter at @IN_Garuda, #Kochi, was winched down theâ�¦ — SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) June 14, 2025 Fire broke out on the Singapore-flagged container ship on Monday, June 9. The 270‑metre cargo vessel was 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. Vessel towed away from land After the salvage team was lowered, the ship was towed farther away from the Kerala coastline on Saturday morning, defence sources said. The vessel has been towed 40 nautical miles away from land. Earlier, the ship was 27 nautical miles from land, they said. According to a defence statement, the towing operation was initiated with a Seaking helicopter from the Southern Naval Command winching down salvors to shift the tow cables from the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ships to the tug vessels. Burning for 5 days The ship 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. 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. The vessel was carrying containerised cargo and had 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.
Sky News
12-06-2025
- General
- Sky News
Fire on cargo ship off India sparks fears of 'ecological disaster'
A cargo ship caught fire with hazardous cargo on board off India's southern coast, D Cevent a potential ecological disaster". Five coastguard ships, two Dornier aircraft, and a helicopter are tackling the blaze on board the Singapore-flagged container vessel MV Wan Hai 503, according to India's Ministry of Defence. The 269m (890ft) ship, carrying 2,128 metric tonnes of fuel, is adrift approximately 42 nautical miles from the port of Beypore in the state of Kerala. Defence officials described the incident as a "serious risk to the marine environment and regional shipping routes". "With the fire yet to be fully extinguished, efforts to establish a towline and pull the vessel away from the coast are underway to prevent a potential ecological disaster. "The situation remains critical and is being monitored continuously," the statement added. Te Indian Coast Guard (ICG) said salvage team members were winched onto the burning vessel on Wednesday to help with the towing operation. But the sea conditions were described as "unfavourable" and while the fire had been "largely contained" the inner decks are still ablaze. The ship left Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo, on 7 June and was due to arrive on Monday at Mumbai's Jawaharlal Nehru Port, the second largest container port in India. The coastguard received a distress alert from the ship Monday morning reporting an explosion and fire inside one of the containers, which then spread. Of the 22 crew, 18 abandoned the vessel with assistance from the Indian Navy and coastguard while four are missing, commandant Amit Uniyal of the ICG said in a statement. Indian officials have not yet given the cause of the explosion and fire on the vessel. It is managed by Singapore-based Wan Hai Lines, according to a statement from Singaporean authorities. Late last month, a Liberia-flagged MSC ELSA 3 container ship sailing between the Indian ports of Vizhinjam and Kochi sank about 38 nautical miles off Kerala. The state government issued a high alert in its coastal areas and asked fishermen not to venture near the site where the container ship, which carried hazardous cargo, had sunk.
Free Malaysia Today
12-06-2025
- General
- Free Malaysia Today
India battles container ship fire with ‘hazardous' cargo
The 268m Singapore-flagged container ship caught fire on Monday. (Indian coast guard/AFP pic) NEW DELHI : India's coast guard said it was battling to extinguish fires raging on a container ship carrying 'hazardous' cargo off the southern coast to prevent a 'potential ecological disaster'. The 268m Singapore-flagged container vessel MV Wan Hai 503, carrying 22 crew members, four of whom are missing, caught fire about 78 nautical miles off India's Beypore port on Monday. Photographs released by the coast guard soon after the blaze broke out showed heavy containers scattered about the vessel, as if hurled up by a powerful explosion. Since then, fire has engulfed the ship. 'The vessel is carrying 2,128 metric tons of fuel and hundreds of containers, including hazardous cargo, posing a serious risk to the marine environment and regional shipping routes,' the coast guard said in a statement late Wednesday. It did not provide more details on the contents of the cargo, but said that 'the situation remains critical'. Eighteen crew members were rescued by the Indian coast guard and navy. Four crew — one from Indonesia, two from Taiwan and one from Myanmar — were listed as missing. The coast guard said it had 'winched five salvage team members' and a diver onto the burning ship. 'With the fire yet to be fully extinguished, efforts to establish a towline and pull the vessel away from the coast are underway to prevent a potential ecological disaster', it said. 'Intensive firefighting efforts have significantly reduced visible flames', it added. 'However, the fire remains active in the inner decks and near fuel tanks.' Seven vessels, including five coast guard vessels as well as airplanes and a helicopter, were engaged in trying to put out the fire. The MV Wan Hai 503 container ship is the second to run into trouble off India's southern coast within weeks. A Liberian-flagged container ship, also with hazardous cargo, sank off the coast of Kerala late last month. The Indian navy rescued all 24 crew members.
Associated Press
12-06-2025
- General
- Associated Press
Indian authorities attempt to tow container ship on fire with dangerous cargo off southern coast
NEW DELHI (AP) — The Indian Coast Guard was attempting to tow a container ship that caught fire off the coast of Kerala in southern India earlier this week to prevent a potential ecological disaster, Indian authorities said Thursday. The Singapore-flagged MV Wan Hai 503 was on its way to Mumbai, India's financial capital, from the Sri Lankan port of Colombo on June 7 when it reported multiple explosions and a subsequent fire some 88 nautical miles from the coast of Beypore in Kerala on Monday. Indian authorities have not yet given a reason for the explosions and fire. Officials were focused on firefighting and preventing the vessel from drifting towards the Indian coastline. The 890-foot vessel carried 2,128 metric tons of fuel and hundreds of containers, including hazardous cargo, India's defense ministry said in a statement on Wednesday night. 'With the fire yet to be fully extinguished, efforts to establish a towline to pull the vessel away from the coast are underway,' the ministry said. 'The situation remains critical and is being monitored continuously.' The firefighting efforts have significantly reduced visible flames, but the fire remains active on the ship's inner decks and near the fuel tanks, the ministry added. Around 40% of the fire onboard the ship has been brought under control and the vessel remains afloat, according to a situation report by India's Directorate General of Shipping. The coast guard launched an aerial firefighting operation Thursday morning using a helicopter from the Indian air force, Commandant Amit Uniyal, a spokesperson for the coast guard, said. The helicopter dispersed 1,000 kilograms of dry chemical powder onto the core fire areas of the ship, he added. Shipping official Captain Harinder Singh told The Associated Press the vessel was carrying a total of 1,754 containers, including 143 with cargo deemed dangerous by the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code, such as flammable liquids, toxic substances and solid hazardous materials. The explosions and subsequent fire caused dozens of the ship's containers to fall into the Arabian Sea. The coast guard on Wednesday airdropped five people onboard the unaffected stern of the ship to coordinate towing operations and assess the overall fire situation. The coast guard successfully established a towline from the vessel to a coast guard ship to control its drift. Singh, who is closely coordinating the operation, said authorities were working to establish a second towline with Offshore Warrior, a more powerful offshore supply ship with greater towing capabilities. Towing is expected to commence later Thursday. The salvage master onboard the ship observed hydrocarbon vapors which indicates possible heat transfer near fuel tanks, the report said. The vessel is managed by Singapore-based Wan Hai Lines. Of the 22 crew members onboard, 18 abandoned the ship with assistance from the navy and coast guard. Four are still missing. The navy and coast guard have launched a search operation for the missing, aided by two Dornier aircrafts. The navy uses Dornier aircraft primarily for maritime surveillance, search and rescue operations. Five ships have also been sent to help put out the fire. Last month, a container vessel sank in another accident off the Kerala coast, releasing 100 cargo containers into the Arabian Sea, and leaving authorities in the state scrambling to contain an oil spill.
CNA
12-06-2025
- General
- CNA
India battles fire on Singapore-registered container ship with 'hazardous' cargo
NEW DELHI: India's coast guard said it was battling to extinguish fires raging on a container ship carrying "hazardous" cargo off the southern coast to prevent a "potential ecological disaster". The 268m Singapore-flagged container vessel MV Wan Hai 503, carrying 22 crew members - four of whom are missing - caught fire about 78 nautical miles off India's Beypore port on Monday (Jun 9). Photographs released by the coast guard soon after the blaze broke out showed heavy containers scattered about the vessel, as if hurled up by a powerful explosion. Since then, fire has engulfed the ship. "The vessel is carrying 2,128 metric tons of fuel and hundreds of containers, including hazardous cargo, posing a serious risk to the marine environment and regional shipping routes," the coast guard said in a statement late Wednesday. It did not provide more details on the contents of the cargo, but said that "the situation remains critical". Eighteen crew members were rescued by the Indian coast guard and navy. Four crew - one from Indonesia, two from Taiwan and one from Myanmar - were listed as missing. The coast guard said it had "winched five salvage team members" and a diver onto the burning ship. "With the fire yet to be fully extinguished, efforts to establish a towline and pull the vessel away from the coast are underway to prevent a potential ecological disaster", it said. "Intensive firefighting efforts ... have significantly reduced visible flames", it added. "However, the fire remains active in the inner decks and near fuel tanks." Seven vessels, including five coast guard vessels as well as airplanes and a helicopter, were engaged in trying to put out the fire. The MV Wan Hai 503 container ship is the second to run into trouble off India's southern coast within weeks.
