The Indian Coast Guard and Navy are actively battling a significant fire on the MV Wan Hai 503, a Singapore-flagged cargo ship that suffered an internal container explosion on Monday while navigating the Arabian Sea towards Mumbai from Sri Lanka. Despite the desperate efforts, four crew members are still missing, while 18 others have been successfully rescued.
To aid in the recovery, Singapore has dispatched a specialized team. The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has raised alerts regarding potential oil spills and debris from the vessel as it continued to generate thick smoke witnessed by onlookers from the coast.
As per reports, the Coast Guard has noted that fires and explosions were ongoing aboard the ship. Following the disaster, several crew members abandoned ship, taking to a lifeboat before being picked up by Indian Navy personnel. Fortunately, 18 of the vessel's 22 crew members were delivered safely ashore, with some receiving treatment for injuries sustained during the ordeal.
The Singapore Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) confirmed that among the missing personnel are two from Taiwan, one from Myanmar, and another from Indonesia. Kerala's Ports Minister, VN Vasavan, reported that fifty containers had been dislodged and are now drifting in the ocean, raising concerns about their impact on local marine life.
In a worrying precedent, this incident marks the second major maritime accident near Kerala's shoreline in a short span, following a previous sinking of a Liberian-flagged vessel. Efforts to safeguard the local environment led to a ban on fishing activities within a 20-nautical mile radius of the last incident, highlighting the area's ecological sensitivity alongside its value as a tourist hub.
To aid in the recovery, Singapore has dispatched a specialized team. The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has raised alerts regarding potential oil spills and debris from the vessel as it continued to generate thick smoke witnessed by onlookers from the coast.
As per reports, the Coast Guard has noted that fires and explosions were ongoing aboard the ship. Following the disaster, several crew members abandoned ship, taking to a lifeboat before being picked up by Indian Navy personnel. Fortunately, 18 of the vessel's 22 crew members were delivered safely ashore, with some receiving treatment for injuries sustained during the ordeal.
The Singapore Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) confirmed that among the missing personnel are two from Taiwan, one from Myanmar, and another from Indonesia. Kerala's Ports Minister, VN Vasavan, reported that fifty containers had been dislodged and are now drifting in the ocean, raising concerns about their impact on local marine life.
In a worrying precedent, this incident marks the second major maritime accident near Kerala's shoreline in a short span, following a previous sinking of a Liberian-flagged vessel. Efforts to safeguard the local environment led to a ban on fishing activities within a 20-nautical mile radius of the last incident, highlighting the area's ecological sensitivity alongside its value as a tourist hub.
