The 270-metre-long vessel, with a draught of 12.5 metres, had left Colombo on June 7 and was en route to Mumbai, expected to arrive on June 10
Kochi: A major fire broke out on board a Singapore-flagged ship after a container explosion off the Kerala coast on Monday, defence sources said. Eighteen crew members were rescued, while four remain missing.
The incident occurred at approximately 9.20 am IST, around 44 nautical miles off Azhikkal in Kannur district of Kerala and 130 nautical miles northwest of Kochi.
Defence sources said that of the 22 crew members on board the Singapore-flagged container ship, MV Wan Hai 503, 18 who had abandoned the vessel were rescued by Indian Navy and Coast Guard assets.
An explosion was reported on board the Singapore-flagged container ship MV Wan Hai 503 off the coast of Kerala on Monday morning, a Defence PRO said here.
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 (90 miles) 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.
The underdeck blast was first reported at around 10.30 am by the Maritime Operations Centre in Mumbai to their counterparts in Kochi.
Eighteen crew members abandoned the Singapore-flagged container vessel after the explosion triggered a fire, according to Defence sources. All crew were rescued by coordinated efforts of the Indian Navy and Coast Guard, they said.
The 270-metre-long vessel, with a draught of 12.5 metres, had left Colombo on June 7 and was en route to Mumbai, expected to arrive on June 10.
“On 09 Jun 25, at about 1030 h, MOC (Koc) received an information from MOC (Mbi) about a reported underdeck explosion onboard MV Wan Hai 503. The vessel is a Singapore Flag Container ship, 270 m long and draught 12.5m with LPC Colombo,” the PRO said in a communication.
He said in response, the Indian Navy diverted INS Surat, which had been scheduled to dock in Kochi, to provide immediate assistance.
The Western Naval Command redirected the vessel at 11 am, the PRO said.
A Navy Dornier aircraft sortie is also being planned from the naval air station INS Garuda in Kochi to assess the situation and coordinate support.
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.