Navy's daring mid-sea rescue stabilises drifting cargo vessel off Kerala coast amid raging fire, high seas

NEW DELHI: The tow of the distressed container vessel MV Wan Hai 503 was successfully transferred to the ocean-going tug Offshore Warrior on Friday, stabilising what could have spiralled into a major maritime disaster.
The firefighting and salvage operation of the Singapore-flagged vessel is being jointly carried out by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), Indian Navy and Indian Air Force.
Despite adverse weather that restricted aerial operations and delayed the salvage team's boarding, a Navy Sea King helicopter launched from Kochi on 13 June heroically winched team members onto the vessel under extremely challenging conditions.
The salvage team then managed to connect a 600-metre tow rope to Offshore Warrior approximately 20 nautical miles off the coast of Kochi. The vessel is now being towed westward at a speed of 1.8 knots and is nearly 35 nautical miles offshore.
Three ICG Offshore Patrol Vessels continue to escort the container ship and sustain firefighting operations. At present, only thick smoke and a few isolated hotspots remain onboard, a testament to the ICG's effective firefighting efforts that have helped avert a major environmental disaster.
The ICG is closely coordinating with the Directorate General of Shipping to ensure the vessel remains at least 50 nautical miles from the Indian coastline until its fate is determined by the owners, in accordance with international norms. The situation is expected to further stabilise with the anticipated arrival of additional firefighting tugs.

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