News / Industry concerns rise after yet another box ship on fire off Indian coast

Interasia Accelerate, a sister ship to Interasia Tenacity Photo: VesselFinder

Ship casualty incidents along the Indian seaboard are becoming a daily news headline, amid growing industry concern.

A fire reported on the brand-new Singapore-flagged MV Interasia Tenacity yesterday morning, again near the Kerala coastline, is the latest case.

According to available updates, fire was spotted in one of the containers stored on the deck as the vessel went from Port Klang in Malaysia to India’s Nhava Sheva port.

The blaze was brought under control quickly, with the help of onboard fire-fighting equipment, even though the crew had reached out to the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and other agencies for assistance.

Responding to the distress call, the ICG diverted an offshore patrol vessel (ICGS Sachet) to provide help, as well as aerial surveillance support.

The 2024-built 3,000 teu capacity Interasia Tenacity is owned/operated by Taiwan-based Interasia Lines and was carrying some 1,387 containers, with 21 crew members – all Filipinos, reports said.

Sources said ICG and other naval ships in the region were keeping a close watch on the ship, scheduled to arrive in Nhava Sheva tonight (local time).

The vessel was deployed on Interasia’s recently launched intra-Asia string, connecting India, Vietnam, and Thailand, known as the VTI, on a full rotation of Cai Mep-Laem Chabang-Port Klang-Nhava Sheva-Mundra-Port Klang-Cai Mep.

Meanwhile, MSC has secured the release of detained ship MSC Manasa F at Vizhinjam port after complying with an Indian court order directing the carrier to make a security deposit in damages for the loss of cargo claimed by local trade groups, following the sinking of MSC Elsa 3 three weeks ago, off Cochin.

Further, with the flames onboard Wan Hai 503 largely doused now, Indian naval agencies are attempting to tow the Singapore-flagged ship away from the Kerala coastline to prevent potential ecological damage in the area.

“In a daring operation…a coast guard helicopter managed to winch five members of the salvage team and an aircrew diver on the deck of the burning vessel to facilitate the towing process,” the ICG said.

“Rough sea conditions are posing a challenge to the fire-fighting operations. Containing the fire and towing the vessel to a safer location remain top priority.”

Interasia Tenacity adds to a series of ship fires in the recent past: Maersk Frankfurt off the Indian coast in July 2024; MSC Capetown III in August 2024 at Colombo; and YM Mobility at Ningbo port in China, also in August last year, to cite some examples.

And at the centre of the growing number of casualty events is hazardous cargo handling.

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