The Indian Coast Guard is engaged in a firefighting operation aboard the Singapore-flagged cargo ship MV Wan Hai 503, which caught fire following an explosion. While 18 crew members were rescued, four remain missing, prompting assistance from Singapore. Environmental warnings have been issued due to potential oil spills and debris drifting toward Kerala's coast.
Coast Guard Battles Blaze on Cargo Ship Off Kerala, Four Crew Members Missing
Coast Guard Battles Blaze on Cargo Ship Off Kerala, Four Crew Members Missing
Rescue operations continue for missing crew as MV Wan Hai 503 burns off India's southwestern coast with environmental concerns looming.
The Indian Navy and the Coast Guard are actively working to suppress a significant fire that erupted on Monday on the MV Wan Hai 503, a Singapore-flagged cargo vessel located in the Arabian Sea off Kerala's southern coast. The ship was en route from Colombo, Sri Lanka to Mumbai, India when an internal container explosion ignited a blaze onboard.
As of now, 18 out of the 22 crew members have been successfully rescued, while four crew members remain unaccounted for. Reports indicate that the missing crew includes two Taiwanese nationals, one from Myanmar, and another from Indonesia. In response to the situation, Singapore has dispatched a team to aid Indian authorities in ongoing search and rescue operations.
Footage captured on Tuesday revealed the ship engulfed in thick smoke, as the Indian Coast Guard reported ongoing flames and explosions could still be observed. The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has raised an alert for the Kerala coastline due to concerns of an oil spill, noting that the ship carried around 100 tonnes of bunker oil.
Kerala's Ports Minister VN Vasavan confirmed that approximately 50 containers fell into the sea amid the incident, with reports indicating that they are currently adrift along the coast and could wash ashore in the coming days. This incident marks the second maritime catastrophe near Kerala in recent weeks, following a separate oil leak from a Liberian-flagged vessel that raised alarms about the potential environmental impact on the region’s rich biodiversity and its implications for local fishing communities.
In light of the previous incident, the state government had imposed a fishing ban within a 20-nautical mile radius from the wreckage site and announced compensation measures for affected fishing families across four districts. Meanwhile, Kerala remains a vital tourist hub, and authorities are keen on managing the environmental risks.
