The Singapore-flagged ship, which reported a fire on board off the Kerala coast on Monday, was carrying containers with dangerous cargo, including flammable solids, liquids and toxic substances.
The 270-metre-long ship, MV Wan Hai 503, was en route to Mumbai when it caught fire following an explosion at 10.30 am.
"The containers in the ship have dangerous cargo, including Class 3 (flammable liquids), Class 4.1 (flammable solids), Class 4.2 (spontaneously combustible substances) and Class 4.6 (toxic substances)," a top officer at Azhikkal Port told newss agency PTI.
The ship had 22 crew members on board who are being rescued by the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard. The rescue crew members are expected to be brought to the Coast Guard facilitation centre in Beypore in Kozhikode district.
According to reports, none of the 22 crew members were Indians, and they are from countries like China, Indonesia, Thailand and so on.
šØ On 09 Jun 25, fire incident reported onboard Singapore-flagged container vessel MV Wan Hai 503 , 78 NM off #Beypore.ā°š¹ @indiannavy diverted INS Surat & planned DO sortie from #INSGaruda.ā°š¹ @IndiaCoastGuard deployed multiple assets including CG Dornier for rescue &ā¦ pic.twitter.com/rf7n6gfLA6
— PRO Defence Kochi (@DefencePROkochi) June 9, 2025
Indian Coast Guard ships Sachet, Arnvesh, Samudra Prahari, Abhinav, Rajdoot, and C-144 are involved in the ongoing rescue operation, while the Navy has deployed INS Surat.
"On 09 Jun 25, at about 1030 h, MOC (Koc) received an information from MOC (Mbi) about a reported underdeck fire onboard MV Wan Hai 503. The vessel is a Singapore Flag Container ship, 270 m long and draught 12.5m with LPC Colombo. The vessel departed Colombo on 07 Jun 25 with NPC Mumbai, 10 Jun," said a communication from the defence PRO.
The latest ship accident came just weeks after a Liberian vessel MSC ELSA 3 sunk off the stateās coast. The 184-metre-long ship was sailing from Vizhinjam to Cochin Port when it tilted and sunk.
