Singapore-flagged ship M V Wan Hai 503 caught fire 78 nautical miles away from the Beypore coast in Kerala.

An  explosion was reported on board the Singapore-flagged container ship MV Wan Hai 503 off the Kerala coast on Monday morning, prompting the Indian Navy to deploy a warship and prepare an aerial reconnaissance mission to assess the situation, a Defence spokesperson said, reported PTI.

Crew members jump overboard

The fire reportedly spread to multiple containers, prompting the crew to abandon ship and take to life rafts.One of the rescued sailors is reported to have sustained serious injuries.Four crew members, a Taiwanese national, two Indonesians, and one from Myanmar are still unaccounted for, with a search operation currently underway.

The First blast

The blast was first flagged around 10:30 am by the Maritime Operations Centre (MOC) in Mumbai, which relayed the alert to its counterpart in Kochi. The 270-metre-long vessel, drawing 12.5 metres, had departed Colombo on June 7 and was expected to arrive in Mumbai on June 10.

Diverted INS Surat

The Indian Navy diverted INS Surat, which had been scheduled to dock in Kochi, to provide immediate assistance. The vessel’s course was altered at 11 am following instructions from the Western Naval Command. Additionally, preparations are under way to deploy a Navy Dornier aircraft from INS Garuda naval air station in Kochi to evaluate conditions and manage support operations.

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A statement.

 It is reported  that on 09 Jun 25, at about 1030 h, MOC (Koc) received information from MOC (Mbi) about a reported underdeck explosion onboard MV Wan Hai 503. The vessel is a Singapore-flagged container ship, 270 m long and draught 12.5 m with last port of call Colombo,” the Defence PRO said in a statement.

WAN HAI 503

The current position of WAN HAI 503is at Indian Coast reported 31 hours ago by AIS. The vessel is en route to the port of Nhava Sheva, India, sailing at a speed of 14.4 knots and expected to arrive there on Jun 10, 04:30. The vessel WAN HAI 503 (IMO 9294862, MMSI 563812000) is a Container Ship built in 2005 (20 years old)

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Singapore container ship , suffers explosion , Kerala coast , MV Wan Hai 503 , Indian Navy , Defence PRO , (MOC)