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The Hindu
5 days ago
- General
- The Hindu
Fire on waters: on India and maritime accidents
The Indian coast needs to be protected against three types of major peacetime maritime accidents involving merchant ships: sinking of merchant ships, causing the loss of cargo, disruption of maritime traffic, and environmental damage; fire onboard merchant vessels that can seriously threaten not just the environment but also life and property on the coast; and oil spills. The recent fire onboard MV Wan Hai 503, that started with explosions when the ship was some 44 nautical miles off the Azhikkal coast in Kannur, Kerala, on June 9, has been successfully controlled now. Photographs of the ship showed a cocktail of smoke of brown, white, grey and black colours billowing out, indicating that many substances were burning. The cargo manifest showed that more than 140 of the 1,754 containers had various types of hazardous cargo. Coast Guard officials report that the raging Wan Hai had started drifting dangerously towards the coast even as firefighting was on and the sea remained rough under monsoon conditions. A tow rope was passed onto the ship but it snapped. An Indian Navy helicopter flew in to airdrop a salvage team and pass a wire rope that was made of steel, which was then used to tow the ship 45 nautical miles away from the coast where the depth is nearly one kilometre. The owner of the vessel pitched in by commandeering tugs through their agents. Wan Hai does not pose an immediate danger to the Indian coast now. Smoke is still seen from the ship and there are hot spots, but it is now up to the ship owner to salvage the vessel after completely putting out the fire. Most of the patrol vessels, the workhorse of the Coast Guard, are now fitted with firefighting equipment since firefighting is a key mandate of the agency. While hazardous cargo on containers are indeed a major fire hazard, a more severe fire hazard is oil. Gas-carrying merchant ships are perhaps the greatest fire and explosion hazards. Nightmare scenarios that can bring the world to its knees involve gas carrier accidents at choke points such as the Suez Canal or the Strait of Malacca off Singapore. In 2020, the Indian Coast Guard and Navy successfully put out a massive fire that broke out off Colombo on the Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), New Diamond, chartered by the Indian Oil Corporation. The VLCC was carrying 2,70,000 tonnes of crude oil and bound for Paradip in Odisha. That these ships were structurally intact despite week-long infernos is a testament as much to the maritime firefighting capabilities of India as the advanced design, materials and construction of the ships. Quick salvage of sunk ships and fighting oil spills, which require quick, extensive and close multi-agency coordination, are the other areas where India needs to build and demonstrate more expertise.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Israel attacks on Iran inflame Mideast shipping tensions
There were no immediate reports of attacks on commercial shipping by Iran after Israel attacked nuclear targets there Thursday. But shipping analysts warned that could change amid rising tensions in the region. As of early Friday vessel traffic was flowing through the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman, the only route out of the Persian Gulf to global shipping lanes. GPS data showed container ships from Taiwan's Wan Hai and CMA CGM of France in the area. United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), which monitors Middle East shipping, said increased tensions in the region 'could lead to an escalation of military activity having a direct impact on mariners. Vessels are advised to transit the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman and Straits of Hormuz with caution.' Iran still holds the 14,000-TEU container ship MSC Aries, which it detained in 2024. The air attacks by Israel also killed two high-level Iranian military leaders. Maritime analysts said increasing conflict could lead major container carriers to withdraw services in the straits, as attacks by Yemen-based Houthi rebels did in the Red Sea. 'If this leads to major container lines avoiding transits through the Strait of Hormuz, this will severely impact links to the major container terminal transshipment hubs inside the Persian Gulf such as Jebel Ali [in Dubai] and Port Khalifa [in Abu Dhabi], said analyst Lars Jensen, in a LinkedIn post. 'A ripple effect would be a sharp increase in handlings with a high risk of wider Asian congestion issues.' Iran's state news agency Friday denied reports that it had struck back at Israel with drones. Tehran also accused the United States of aiding Israel's strikes, a charge denied by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The attacks by Israel pushed West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices by more than 9%, while crude oil futures rose 13%. Find more articles by Stuart Chirls upheaval tops new shipping concerns surveyHouse investigator Yi to lead Marad Early peak coming as trans-Pacific container rates double Retailers see cargo surge coming The post Israel attacks on Iran inflame Mideast shipping tensions appeared first on FreightWaves.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
WATCH: Four crew missing after container ship explosion off coast of India
Four sailors are reported missing after an explosion and fire aboard a containership off the west coast of India. Emergency responders led by the India Coast Guard were fighting a raging, smoky blaze aboard the Wan Hai 503 sailing from Colombo, Sri Lanka, to Nhava Sheva. Reports said the fires were ignited Monday by an explosion in the cargo hold of the 882-foot Singapore-flagged ship, built in 2005. Four crew are reported missing while five suffered injuries, including two in critical condition with severe burns. Eighteen crew were rescued. Video of the 4,252-TEU vessel showed a number of containers missing and others burned and damaged in the incident. The cause of the explosion is not yet known. The ship was deployed on Taiwan-based Wan Hai's China-India Express Service (CIX) rotation of Kaiohsiung, Taiwan – Hong Kong – Shekou, China – Singapore – Port Klang, Malaysia – Colombo – Nhava Sheva. Find more articles by Stuart Chirls Intermodal preps 200K chassis for China container surge New world order: Ocean rates up 88% as shippers pounce on lower tariffs New week sees ocean container rates soar Dirtier ports will hurt jobs, US maritime revival: AAPA The post WATCH: Four crew missing after container ship explosion off coast of India appeared first on FreightWaves.
