Thiruvananthapuram: A Singapore-flagged container vessel caught fire off the Kerala coast on Monday, the second maritime accident in two weeks after a container ship sank off the state’s coast, raising fresh concerns about maritime safety and environmental risks.
The container vessel, WAN HAI 503, en route from Colombo to Mumbai, caught fire approximately 144 km northwest of Kozhikode, according to the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA).
The KSDMA said, in a statement, that multiple explosions and fires had occurred on board the ship. Of the 22 crew members, 18 jumped into the sea and are currently in lifeboats. It added that the ship had not sunk and remained adrift, although 20 containers had fallen into the sea.
The statement added that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan directed the KSDMA to instruct the district collectors of Ernakulam and Kozhikode to make necessary arrangements to provide medical care to the crew members once they were brought ashore.
“We need to get more information from the Coast Guard. As of now, we don’t have any details regarding the potential impact on the Kerala coastline. If such a situation arises, the KSDMA will take necessary precautionary measures,” Dr. Sekhar Lukose Kuriakose, member secretary of the KSDMA, told the media.
Kochi Defence PRO Atul Pillai confirmed to ThePrint that the Indian Navy has diverted INS Surat to the site, and a Navy Dornier aircraft sortie was launched from the naval air station INS Garuda in Kochi. The Indian Coast Guard has also deployed a Dornier aircraft for rescue operations and assessment.
The incident comes just two weeks after a Liberian-flagged container ship, MSC ELSA 3, capsized off the Kerala coast. The vessel, which was en route to Kochi from Vizhinjam, began tilting on 24 May and sank the following day, about 4.6 nautical miles off the Thottappally spillway in Alappuzha.
While no major oil spill was reported, plastic pellets, cashews, wood and other debris began washing up on beaches in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Authorities are still working to contain and clean up the material, especially along southern Kerala’s coastline, along with water sampling.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)