Singapore vessel on fire towed further out to sea as firefighting continues

Amidst the firefighting operation aboard the Singapore-flagged cargo ship, which caught fire earlier this week off the Kerala coast en route to Mumbai from Colombo, it was towed farther away from the coastline on Saturday morning, defence sources said.
The vessel — MV Wan Hai 503 — has been towed 40 nautical miles away from land. Earlier, the ship was 27 nautical miles from land, they said.
According to a defence statement, the towing operation was initiated with a Seaking helicopter from the Southern Naval Command winching down salvors to shift the tow cables from the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ships to the tug vessels.
'The towing operations have commenced. Due to heavy weather, towing speed is restricted to 1.5 knots,' it said.
'ICG Ships Saksham, Samarth, Vikram, and IN Ship Sharda, OSV Triton Liberty are escorting the towing vessels.
Towing is being undertaken by Tug Offshore Warrior, Garnett and Water Lily,' a defence statement, on social media platform X, said.
'Fire fighting operation continues,' it added.
The Singapore-flagged vessel had caught fire after one of the containers aboard it exploded.
On Thursday, the Directorate General of Shipping had said that 40 per cent of the fire had been brought under control.
Of the 22 crew members on board the vessel, 18 were rescued while four remain missing.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Scroll.in

9 hours ago

• Scroll.in

Second ship sinking off Kerala coast revives fears in Sri lanka of worst maritime disaster

Sri Lanka is once again facing a significant marine environmental crisis, as tiny plastic pellets, commonly known as nurdles, have begun washing ashore along the island's northern coastline. This time, the pollution is linked to the sinking of the Liberia-flagged container ship MSC ELSA 3 off of Kerala, India. The unfolding incident has triggered fears of a repeat of the X-Press Pearl disaster in 2021, the worst maritime disaster to have occurred in Sri Lanka, significantly impacting marine ecosystems and coastal communities. According to the Indian Coast Guard, the MSC ELSA 3, carrying 640 containers including hazardous cargo, sank on May 25, roughly 38 nautical miles off the Kerala coast. The cause was reportedly a failure of its ballast system. Indian authorities confirmed the vessel was loaded with an estimated 85 metric tonnes of diesel and 367 metric tonnes of furnace oil, in addition to at least 13 containers of dangerous substances such as calcium carbide. All 24 crew members were safely rescued by Indian Coast Guard and Navy teams. While Indian authorities were able to initially contain an oil spill, the environmental fallout soon escalated. Plastic nurdles released from sunken containers began appearing on beaches in southern India, and by June 11, ocean currents driven by strong gusts of southwest monsoon winds carried them toward Sri Lanka's northern shores, raising serious concerns among marine biologists and local communities. Fresh environmental fallout 'We've begun cleaning efforts and are evaluating coordinated response actions,' said Padma Abeykoon, additional secretary at the Ministry of Environment. With strong monsoon winds forecast for the coming days, she noted that ocean currents may bring even more pollutants ashore. According to Abeykoon, Indian authorities had alerted Sri Lanka about the possibility of debris from the sunken vessel drifting toward its shores, depending on ocean current patterns. The plastic pellets first arrived on the northern islands and reached the Mannar coast within a day, continuously washing up along Sri Lanka's southern-facing beaches. One of the earliest reports from Sri Lanka came from Lahiru Walpita, a birdwatcher in Mannar, who observed the nurdles during his routine early morning seabird monitoring. 'On June 12, I noticed strange white pebbles scattered across the Mannar beach. A closer look revealed they were plastic nurdles, something I sadly recognise from the X-Press Pearl spill,' Walpita said. Walpita initially assumed the rough seas had opened up a remnant of X-Press Pearl, but as he discovered 20 25-kg bags of nurdles strewn across a 2-km stretch of the beach in Mannar, he realised something was wrong. Out of these, only two bags were damaged, and others were in perfect shape, Walpita told Mongabay. Walpita also observed crows and an egret investigating the pellets but hadn't consumed them. 'However, seabirds, like little terns and bridled terns, feed off the ocean surface while in flight and I fear they could mistake these pellets for food as they have little time to observe,' he warned. The breeding season for these species, especially on tiny islands nearby in Adam's Bridge Marine National Park, runs from May to September, and Walpita fears the nurdle invasion could disrupt their reproductive cycles. Temporary ban Meanwhile, Indian authorities imposed a temporary fishing ban within 20 nautical miles of the MSC ELSA 3 wreck to mitigate risks from hazardous cargo. One of the most concerning chemicals on board was calcium carbide, which reacts violently with water to release acetylene – a highly flammable and potentially explosive gas – and produces caustic substances harmful to marine life. 'The ship sank about 300 nautical miles from Sri Lanka, so we don't anticipate immediate chemical contamination threat for Sri Lankan waters,' said Jagath Gunasekara, general manager of Sri Lanka's Marine Environment Protection Authority. 'However, we are conducting continuous water quality tests and have activated the National Oil and Hazardous Noxious Substances Spill Contingency Plan to remain prepared,' he added. Adding to the urgency, Indian authorities are battling another maritime emergency just two weeks after the ELSA 3 incident. On June 7, the Singapore-flagged container ship MV Wan Hai 503 caught fire following multiple explosions, approximately 88 nautical miles off the coast of Kerala. The vessel, carrying more than 2,128 metric tonnes of fuel and numerous containers with hazardous materials, poses a potentially greater environmental risk than ELSA 3. As of June 18, Indian Coast Guard reports indicated that the fire was under control. The drifting vessel has since been secured and successfully towed away. Nurdle spill The nurdles are highly persistent in the marine environment, as they can absorb toxic chemicals and enter the food chain, posing a risk to marine life and potentially humans as research on the aftermath of X-Press Pearl disaster proves. The parallels of these disasters with the X-Press Pearl disaster are striking. The 2021 incident released billions of nurdles into the Indian Ocean, contaminating beaches for months, killing marine organisms and disrupting fishing livelihoods. One silver lining is that a lot of research was conducted following the X-Press Pearl disaster, and this can be informative in tackling the ongoing episode of the nurdle pollution, Gunasekara said. Even today, Sri Lanka is fighting for adequate compensation, with legal proceedings dragging on in international courts. The echoes of that catastrophe now serve as a grim warning: unless stronger regional protocols and maritime safety measures are enforced, the region could be doomed to repeat history.

United News of India

10 hours ago

• United News of India

Indian Coast Guard marks IDY with ‘Yoga Sangam'

New Delhi, June 21 (UNI) The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) marked the 11th International Day of Yoga (IDY) on Saturday under its flagship 'Yoga Sangam,' with participation from over 60 locations across India's coastline in the Northwest, Western, Eastern, Southern, and island territories. From the bustling bases on the Western Seaboard, including Mumbai, Goa, Karwar, and Mangalore, to the Eastern Seaboard in Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Paradeep, and Haldia, the spirit of yoga was visible across its units. The Southern Region, including Mandapam and Kochi, as well as island locations like Port Blair, also reported high levels of engagement. The main event, however, took place at the ICG Complex in Noida (Delhi NCR), where Director General of the Indian Coast Guard, Paramesh Sivamani, addressed over 1,000 attendees, said a statement from the ICG here. During his address, Director General Sivamani emphasised the vital role of yoga in enhancing mental clarity, stress management, and physical resilience—qualities that are essential for ICG personnel working in high-pressure maritime environments. "The practice of yoga is integral to maintaining the physical and mental strength required for the demanding maritime duties our personnel undertake," said Director General Sivamani. "By adopting yoga in our daily routines, we aim to enhance the well-being of our teams, fostering both individual and collective strength." The yoga session was led by renowned instructor Vandana Gupta, along with a team of six expert yoga instructors. Together, they guided participants through a range of asanas, pranayama, and meditation practices designed to cater to both beginners and experienced practitioners. Special attention was given to creating routines that can seamlessly integrate into the hectic schedules of ICG personnel, the statement added.

Business Standard

2 days ago

• Business Standard

India seeks tighter container safety, cargo disclosure norms in IMO meet

After multiple incidents of vessel sinking and fires off Indian coasts, India has asked the United Nations' International Maritime Organization (IMO) to tighten container safety and cargo disclosure norms on a 'war footing'. The development comes at the heels of IMO's ongoing session of the Maritime Safety Committee, where India brought up the recent sinking of the Liberian-flagged vessel MSC ELSA 3 and a fire aboard the MV Wan Hai 503, which, according to officials aware of the matter, has still not been completely extinguished. 'These incidents highlight urgent safety concerns regarding cargo carriage on container ships. India urges a global review of packaging, stowage, and monitoring protocols of containerised cargoes, especially lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries and plastic nurdles. The four incidents in quick succession within three weeks demand immediate action from stakeholders to protect seafarers' lives and the livelihoods of Indian fishermen and coastal communities,' the Indian delegation said at the maritime watchdog's safety meeting. India's stand at the meeting is that reliance solely on shipper declarations is not adequate — a call made repeatedly in the past by sector watchers around the globe. Shipowners/managers, especially container shipping lines, must adopt technology and take responsibility to prevent such incidents in a transparent manner. 'What is in a box can't be a mystery anymore. India calls on the IMO to develop stronger regulatory mechanisms for the safety of container ships, cargo management, and crew protection on a war footing,' the Indian delegation said. According to reports, MV Wan Hai 503 was carrying flammable solids (IMO Class 4.1) in 20 containers — including extremely flammable nitrocellulose with alcohol in two containers, naphthalene (crude or refined) in 12 containers, and flammable liquids in multiple containers. The vessel is also carrying over 4,900 kilograms of a spontaneously combustible (IMO Class 4.2) organometallic substance, which can combust when in contact with air and reacts with water. On May 25, MSC ELSA 3 sank 30 nautical miles southwest of Kochi. It carried 13 containers with International Maritime Dangerous Goods cargoes. Local reports, however, show a continued flow of plastic nurdles on the coast of Kerala, which are being cleaned up by local authorities. The Singapore-flagged Wan Hai 503 suffered an underdeck explosion and fire. The vessel carried 147 dangerous containers. Firefighting and towing operations, coordinated by the Directorate General of Shipping, are ongoing to prevent ecological harm. Both these incidents have caused major environmental damage to coastal fishing communities in Kerala — 65 containers have fallen overboard, many yet to be traced. Two more incidents involving vessels with flammable substances have also taken place in recent weeks off the coasts of Mumbai and Kerala. Safety investigations are ongoing, and India will share the findings of these probes at the next meeting of the Maritime Safety Committee. While the next committee meeting is scheduled for May 2026, a meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee is scheduled for October. 'Though these incidents involved foreign vessels and crew from other nationalities, we activated rapid search and rescue and emergency response,' India said.