Container ship Wan Hai explodes off India, four crew missing

Container ship Wan Hai 503 explodes off the coast of India (Photo: PRO Defence Kochi / Phaata)

Four crew members are missing after an explosion on board a container ship operated by Wan Hai Lines today (June 9).

The Indian Ministry of Defence said the fire was reported at around 10:30 a.m. local time when the Singapore-flagged 4,250-TEU Wan Hai 503 was about 80km southwest of Azhikkal, Kerala, India.

Of the 22 crew members on board, 18 abandoned the burning ship and evacuated on a life raft. Defence officials said the Wan Hai 503 is currently on fire and adrift at sea.

Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) said: "Eighteen crew members have been accounted for and are in the process of being transferred from lifeboats to a passing vessel. There are no Singaporeans onboard."

The MPA said some of the rescued crew members were injured, adding that the Indian Coast Guard and navy were assisting the crew and searching for those missing. The Wan Hai 503, which operates on Wan Hai's Far East-Madras 2 service, departed Colombo on June 7 and was scheduled to arrive in Mumbai on June 10.

In a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, Wan Hai said it was working with relevant government agencies and insurance companies to rescue the crew and assist shippers.

The explosion on the ship's hold was initially reported by the Marine Operations Centre in Mumbai to their counterparts in Kochi. It is believed that dangerous goods were being transported in that hold.

Indian media reported that the Wan Hai 503 was carrying four types of hazardous materials: flammable liquids (Class 3), flammable solids (Class 4.1), substances liable to spontaneous combustion (Class 4.2) and toxic substances (Class 6).

This is the second maritime incident in Indian waters in two weeks.

On 25 May, MSC's 1,730-TEU MSC Elsa 3 sank off the coast of Kerala while en route from Vizhinjam to Kochi due to a ballast water system failure that caused the ship to list severely before sinking.

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Source: Phaata.com (According to Container-News)

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