Singapore cargo ship catches fire off Kerala coast, 4 mariners missing

Four mariners are missing at sea, while another 18 have been rescued from a burning cargo ship off the Kerala coast on Monday. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) said one of the rescued crew members has sustained serious injuries. The missing mariners are nationals of Taiwan, Indonesia and Myanmar. The mariners were crew members aboard the Singapore-flagged container vessel Wan Hai 503.

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According to the Coast Guard, a distress signal was received at 9.30 am today from the vessel, which was located 160 km off the coast of Beypore, Kerala. The ship reported an explosion followed by a fire in one of the containers onboard.

The 270-metre-long vessel had departed Colombo, Sri Lanka, on June 6 with 22 crew members and was scheduled to arrive at Nhava Sheva Port, Mumbai, on Monday.

The containers onboard are reported to include hazardous cargo such as flammable solids, liquids and toxic substances, a senior official at Azhikkal Port said on Monday.

Navy shares photos of mid-sea rescue

New Delhi: Correcting the narrative around a mid-sea rescue, the Navy on Monday evening posted images showing its personnel aboard warship INS Surat rescuing 18 merchant mariners off the coast of Kerala. Earlier, the Indian Coast Guard — also under the Ministry of Defence — had issued two statements crediting merchant vessel MV One Marvel with the rescue of the 18 crew members from the Singapore-flagged cargo ship. However, photos posted by the Navy on its official X handle show INS Surat at sea alongside the distressed cargo vessel.

Upon receiving the distress call, the Coast Guard’s Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Mumbai diverted another merchant vessel, “MV One Marvel”, which rescued 18 crew members.

A Coast Guard Dornier aircraft is currently conducting aerial surveillance of the vessel to provide real-time assessment. The ship is adrift, and firefighting operations by the Coast Guard have begun to bring the situation under control. Authorities are in the process of identifying the cargo onboard to assess the nature of the fire and the risks involved in firefighting.

The ICG is coordinating with the Directorate General of Shipping, the state administration and the vessel’s owners to formulate a response plan for the evolving situation.

Just last month, a Liberian-flagged vessel, MV MSC ELSA 3, sank around 27 km off the coast of Kerala, southwest of Alappuzha, causing an oil slick.