On Monday, an explosion occurred on board the container ship “Wan Hai 503” off the south-western coast of India.
18 crew members were rescued by the coast guard, but the search for four more is still ongoing. The ship was en route from Colombo in Sri Lanka to the port of Nhava Sheva in Mumbai when an explosion occurred at around 12:30 local time. The Singapore-flagged “Wan Hai 503” is now drifting about 80 km southwest of the city of Azhikode. The ship, which was built in 2005 and has a capacity of 4,333 TEU, had 22 crew members on board at the time.
So far, 18 have been rescued by a passing ship with lifeboats, with some suffering injuries according to recent reports. According to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the search and rescue operation is still underway. The Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Navy provided vessels and rescue equipment. Four crew members (two Indonesians and one seaman each from Taiwan and Myanmar) are still missing.
“Wan Hai 503” lost over 50 containers
Following several explosions, the “Wan Hai 503” currently has a list of around 10 to 15 degrees. “The situation remains critical,” says the MPA. “Every effort is being made to stabilize the ship.”
Images shared by the coastguard on Platform X show thick black smoke above the ship. Some containers appear damaged or displaced. Indian authorities told Reuters that at least 50 containers had fallen into the sea.
Another accident occurred in the region off the state of Kerala only recently: at the end of May, the container ship “MSC Elsa 3”, which was partly loaded with hazardous goods, sank. The crew was rescued. (JW)
