Indian authorities are racing to contain a fire aboard a Singapore-flagged container ship carrying hazardous cargo, in a desperate bid to avert what officials warn could become a major environmental crisis.
The MV Wan Hai 503, a 268-metre vessel, caught fire on Monday roughly 78 nautical miles off the coast of Beypore in southern India. The ship was carrying 2,128 metric tons of fuel and hundreds of containers — some containing dangerous materials — when the blaze broke out.
The Indian Coast Guard, which is leading the emergency operation, confirmed late Wednesday that the situation remains "critical." Fire continues to burn within the ship’s inner decks, dangerously close to fuel tanks.
Photographs released by the coast guard revealed the scale of the damage — containers strewn across the deck, some apparently displaced by an explosion. The ship’s 22-member crew included nationals from Indonesia, Taiwan, and Myanmar. So far, 18 crew members have been rescued, while four remain missing.
A coordinated firefighting mission is underway, involving seven vessels, aircraft, and helicopters. Salvage experts and a diver were winched onto the burning vessel in an attempt to gain control of the situation and prepare to tow the ship further from the coastline to reduce the risk to nearby marine ecosystems.
“Intensive firefighting efforts have significantly reduced visible flames,” said the coast guard, “but the fire remains active inside the vessel.”
This marks the second maritime emergency involving hazardous cargo off India’s southern coast in recent weeks. In May, a Liberian-flagged ship sank off Kerala’s coast, though all 24 crew members were safely rescued by the Indian Navy.
Authorities are now on high alert as they work to prevent further damage and a potential ecological catastrophe in the Indian Ocean.