Latest news with #MaritimeAuthority
Euronews
17-07-2025
- Climate
- Euronews
Seawater temperatures in Portugal's Algarve reach record highs
Portugal's southern Algarve region experienced a "marine heatwave", the country's Maritime Authority said on Tuesday, after collating the results recorded by a buoy placed in the sea near Faro's beaches between 28 June and 9 July. The buoy is part of the Hydrographic Institute's national monitoring network (MONIZEE). According to the data, the waters around the beaches in the area reached temperatures of up to 25.1°C. Temperatures are "significantly higher" than the average of the last 20 years, indicating the occurrence of an extreme phenomenon called a "marine heatwave", according to a statement published on the Portuguese Navy's website. "A 'marine heatwave' is considered to occur if the daily sea temperature exceeds, for at least five consecutive days, a high statistical limit, called the 90th percentile of the average temperature for that region and time of year," the statement said. According to the statement, the daily seawater temperature recorded in Faro "exceeded the average temperature by more than 5°C" and therefore corresponds to "the category of marine heatwave considered extreme". "The average temperature was determined from records collected in Faro over the last 20 years (2004-2024), serving as a reference for identifying marine heatwave events." Since the data was collected, temperatures have returned to normal with the sea in the Algarve now cooler, with the water between 18 and 20°C.
Arab News
10-06-2025
- General
- Arab News
Singapore-flagged ship carrying toxic oil explodes off Indian coast
NEW DELHI: India's Coast Guard and Navy were struggling on Tuesday to extinguish a fire on a Singapore-flagged cargo ship that exploded in the Arabian Sea, triggering an alarm over its load of 100 tonnes of bunker oil. The MV Wan Hai 503, en route to Mumbai from Sri Lanka, reported an internal container explosion on Monday, which triggered a major fire on board as the vessel approached the coast of the southern state of Kerala. The Indian Coast Guard said the situation was 'critical' as its ships engaged in an overnight operation to douse the flames and rescue 22 members of the vessel's crew. Four crew remain missing. Two of them are from Thailand, one from Indonesia and one from Myanmar, according to Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority, which sent a team to assist the Indian rescuers. Containers falling from the ship were reported drifting between Kerala's Kozhikode and Kochi, triggering an alert by the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services over a potential spill of what it identified as 100 tonnes of bunker oil. Bunker oil is a thick, heavy and viscous fuel used to power large ships, especially cargo vessels and tankers. It is one of the dirtiest and most polluting fuels. It contains sulfur, heavy metals and carcinogens. If spilled, it is difficult to clean up and may persist for months or years in the marine environment, suffocating coral reefs and killing fish and seabirds. 'Caution is advised about a few containers beaching between Kozhikode and Kochi,' the INCOIS said in a notification, adding that there was an 'estimated 70-80 percent probability' that the containers that went overboard from the MV Wan Hai 503 might drift south-southeastwards from the accident location for the next three days. The incident took place just two weeks after a Liberian-flagged vessel carrying hazardous cargo sank off Kerala's coast. The vessel went down with cargo containing calcium carbide and more than 84 metric tonnes of diesel, and 367 metric tonnes of furnace oil. Diesel and furnace oil are both classified as marine pollutants that are toxic to marine life and can contaminate coastal ecosystems.
Russia Today
10-06-2025
- General
- Russia Today
Indian Navy rescues crew members of fire-stricken Singapore-flagged ship
The Indian Navy has successfully rescued 18 crew members from a Singapore-flagged container ship that caught fire off the coast of southwestern India on Monday. The rescued crew from the 'MV Wan Hai 503' was taken on board a naval vessel to Mangaluru on Monday night, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency has reported, citing defense officials. The Singapore-flagged container ship, which was en route from Colombo to Mumbai, suffered an internal container explosion and a subsequent major fire onboard on Monday morning, according to Indian media outlets. Preliminary reports suggest that 10-15 containers fell overboard as a result of the explosion. The vessel was carrying a total of 22 crew members from various countries, including eight Chinese, six Taiwanese, five Myanmarese, and three Indonesian nationals, officials said. Eighteen sailors were rescued from the stricken ship with 'some injuries,' according to The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore. Four crew members remain missing, while five are being treated for injuries in a Mangaluru hospital. The underdeck blast on the vessel was initially reported to the Indian Coast Guard's Maritime Operations Centre in the southern city of Kochi by its Mumbai counterparts. In response the Indian Navy quickly diverted the INS Surat to provide immediate assistance to the distressed vessel, reports said. The Chinese embassy in New Delhi thanked the Indian Navy and Mumbai Coast Guard for swiftly rescuing the crew members. On June 9, MV Wan Hai 503 encountered onboard explosion and fire 44 nautical miles off Azhikkal, Kerala. Of the total 22 crew members on board, 14 are Chinese, including 6 from Taiwan. Our gratitude goes to the Indian Navy @indiannavy and the Mumbai Coast Guard for their prompt… Local media also reported that five Indian Coast Guard vessels were battling the fire on Tuesday, with explosions continuing from the middle section of the ship to the container storage area, located in front of the crew's living quarters. A Dornier aircraft is conducting an aerial survey of the site, according to reports. Efforts to mitigate the situation are being monitored by an environmental observation vessel, but the magnitude of the ecological impact remains to be assessed. This incident comes close on the heels of another shipping accident in the area. On May 25, the Liberian-flagged MSC ELSA 3 sank off the coast of southwest India.
CNA
10-06-2025
- General
- CNA
Indian coast guard continues to battle blaze on Singapore-registered container ship
NEW DELHI: India's coastguard said on Tuesday (Jun 10) it was battling to stop a fierce blaze that has engulfed a Singapore-flagged container ship listing off its southern coast since the fire broke out a day earlier. The 268m-long container vessel MV Wan Hai 503 was carrying 22 crew members when it caught fire some 78 nautical miles off India's Beypore port on Monday. The Indian Coast Guard and Navy rescued 18 crew members on Monday, with four members still missing. Two of the missing personnel are from Taiwan, one from Myanmar and one from Indonesia. The Indian Coast Guard said on Tuesday that "fires and explosions persist" on the vessel, which was tilting at around "10 to 15 degrees". They issued photographs that showed flames leaping from the stacked containers, with the ship surrounded by thick plumes of billowing black smoke. Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) said on Tuesday that the 18 rescued crew members had arrived safely at New Mangalore Port. Six injured crew members were transferred to a shore medical facility and three have since been discharged. "Search-and-rescue operations are ongoing to locate the four missing crew," MPA said, adding that aerial surveillance was being conducted in support of the efforts. The authority had been working with the vessel's classification society and the Indian authorities to provide technical information to support efforts to stabilise the situation and manage the fire. "MPA is monitoring the situation in close coordination with the Indian authorities, including supporting the assessment of the vessel's structural integrity and the potential for environmental impact." Initial images on Monday showed heavy containers that had been seemingly hurled up by a powerful explosion on board, with the coastguard saying that some containers were in the water. Coastguard vessels alongside the blackened and burning ship poured jets of water onto the flames, video footage showed. The container vessel is managed by Wan Hai Lines (Singapore). It is the second to run into trouble off India's southern coast within weeks.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Indian coast guard battles massive fire on container ship listing off Kerala
India's coast guard is fighting a massive blaze aboard a container ship that's threatening to sink about 15 nautical miles off the coast of Kerala as the search continues for four missing crew members. Images showed flames and towering plumes of diesel smoke rising from the Singaporean-flagged MV Wan Hai 503 that was tilting '10 to 15 degrees' in the water, according to Indian Coast Guard Commandant Amit Uniyal. Explosions were still being heard on Tuesday, more than 24 hours after the Indian Coast Guard responded to a distress call. Around 9:30am local time Monday, the ship's crew reported a fire caused by an explosion, Uniyal said, though it's not clear what caused the blast. Eighteen sailors were rescued from the stricken ship with 'some injuries,' according to The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore. Four crew members remain missing. The MV Wan Hai 503 is managed by Wan Hai Lines (Singapore) Pte Ltd, according to the port authority, which said it would investigate the incident. CNN has reached out to the company for comment. The 269-meter (890-foot) vessel left Colombo, Sri Lanka on June 7 and was set to arrive in Mumbai, India on Monday. Uniyal told CNN Tuesday the coast guard was 'doing its very best' to control the blaze, but the situation was worsening. 'I can't tell you whether the ship will sink,' Uniyal said. 'More containers are catching fire.' Five Indian Coast Guard vessels were fighting the fire Tuesday, reporting that 'explosions persist from mid‑ships to the container bay ahead of the accommodation block,' according to an official social media account. Images posted by the Indian Coast Guard show flames, black smoke and charred containers. An environmental observation vessel is monitoring their efforts, but the scale of the impact is not yet known. The incident is the second serious shipping incident off Kerala in under a month, after the Liberian-flagged MSC ELSA 3 sank on May 25. The vessel went down with over 600 containers including 13 containing 'hazardous cargo,' according to the government of Kerela which initiated an environmental emergency and instructed fisherman against working in the area. India's Director General of Shipping said none of the 61 containers that washed ashore from the MSC Elsa 3 contained hazardous cargo and 51 had been removed from the shoreline as of June 9. An underwater operation has been launched to cap the sunken ship's oil tanks and eventually salvage its fuel, the office wrote in a statement.
