News / Explosions and 'out-of-control' fire reported on Wan Hai box ship

Photo: Indian CoastGuard

Explosions have been reported as well as a major fire on a Wan Hai containership off the coast of Kerala, in southern India.

Of the 22 crew members, mostly Chinese and Myanmar nationals, 18 who had jumped into the sea have reportedly been rescued by the Indian coastguard, sources said. Some are said to have been injured.

Wan Hai 503, reportedly serving intra-Asia trade, is the latest casualty, just days after MSC Elsa 3 sank off Cochin. The box ship was en route from Sri Lanka’s Colombo port to Nhava Sheva in India.

“On 9 June, a fire incident has been reported onboard Singapore-flagged container vessel MV Wan Hai 503, 78 nautical miles off Beypore,” reported Indian maritime security agencies. “Indian Coast Guard deployed multiple assets for rescue operations.”

Several explosions were reported on the Singapore-flagged ship, reports describing the situation as “out of control”.

Efforts to rescue other crew members and control the fire are under way, with available updates indicating that the vessel had some 650 containers on board, including some containing dangerous goods.

Meanwhile, the 25 May capsizing of MSC Elsa 3 continues to generate controversy, reports suggesting that Indian authorities were ‘watering down’ their plans to hold ship owner/operator MSC responsible for the incident off the Cochin coast.

That may be because MSC has a rapidly growing business footprint in the country and authorities are keen to avert any long-term legal battles that  could undermine this investment, sources say.

At the centre of this is Vizhinjam container transhipment terminal in southern India, which has already become a regional hub for MSC.

Sources said authorities instead want to focus on recovery of damage claims through a strong insurance filing, adding: “MSC and the P&I club insurer of the vessel had appointed MERC for removal of containers and shoreline clean-up activities,” said India’s Directorate General of Shipping.

“To date, a total of 51 containers out of 61 washed ashore have been successfully recovered and delivered to port, while the remaining 10 containers are currently under active salvage.”

And it added that no oil pollution along the shoreline had been reported.

Vizhinjam is a big bet on India’s maritime development agenda, which has been designed to challenge the dominance of Sri Lanka’s Colombo port for container transhipment volumes in South Asia.

Today’s arrival of the MSC Irina, touted as the world’s largest containership, has marked another milestone for Adani Group’s flagship deepwater port project.