Indian coast guard fights fire on container ship off Kerala

Indian coast guard fights fire on container ship off Kerala

The Indian coast guard is currently fighting a huge fire on a container ship that threatens to decrease about 15 nautical miles off the coast of Kerala. While the search for four missing crew members continues, recordings show flames and high clouds of smoke that rise from the MV WAN Hai 503, which is under Singapore flag. According to the commander of the Indian coast guard, Amit Uniyal, the ship is in a tendency angle of "10 to 15 degrees" in the water.

Details of the incident

On Tuesday, explosions were still to be heard, more than 24 hours after the Indian coast guard reacted to an emergency call. Around 9:30 a.m. local time on Monday, the ship's crew reported a fire caused by an explosion. The exact circumstances that led to this explosion have so far been unclear.

savior in use

From the stumbling ship, 18 seafarers were saved with "some injuries", as the Maritime and port authority of Singapore announced. Unfortunately, four crew members remain missing. The MV Wan Hai 503 is managed by Wan Hai Lines (Singapore) PTE LTD, which has announced that it has announced the incident. CNN asked the company to comment.

ship details

The 269 meter long (890 feet) ship left Colombo, Sri Lanka, on June 7, and was planned for arrival in Mumbai, India. Uniyal announced CNN on Tuesday that the coast guard was doing "its best" to control the fire, but the situation worsens. "I can't tell you if the ship will sink," said Uniyal. "More and more containers catch fire."

rescue measures and environmental impacts

Five ships of the Indian coast guard fought against the fire on Tuesday and reported on continuing explosions in the middle of the ship to the container camp in front of the living area. Images published by the Indian coast guard show flames, black smoke and charred containers. An environmental observation boat monitors the rescue measures, but the extent of the environmental impact is not yet known.

previous incidents

This event is the second severe ship's incident off the coast of Kerala within a less than a month after the MSC ELSA 3 driving under Liberian flag has dropped on May 25th. This ship went under with over 600 containers, including 13 with "dangerous freight", as the Kerala government informed, which then ordered an environmental emergency and Fischer not to work in the area.

development of the situation

The general director of Indian shipping indicated that none of the 61 containers that were flushed by the MSC ELSA 3 on the shore contained dangerous freight and 51 of these containers were removed from the coastal line by June 9th. An underwater operation was initiated to seal the oil tanks of the sunken ship and finally recover the fuel, the office said in an explanation.