Cargo ship fire: coastal vigil continues amid salvage operations

The Coastal police and the Marine Enforcement Squad are continuing heightened vigil and patrolling off the Malabar coast, as the search and recovery operations for the hazardous containers that fell into the sea from MV Wan Hai 503 — the Singapore-flagged vessel that caught fire nearly 88 nautical miles off Kerala’s Beypore coast on June 9 — are yet to be completed.

District Collector Snehil Kumar Singh, who also serves as the Chairman of the District Disaster Management Authority, has urged coastal residents to remain alert for hazardous containers and to immediately report any suspicious wreckage or objects by dialling the helpline 112. He advised maintaining a distance of at least 200 metres from such objects if spotted.

Members of the Coastal police and Marine Enforcement Squad said heightened patrols would continue until the ongoing salvage operations for the cargo ship were completed. They added that the Fisheries department had already secured the cooperation of fishermen and allied workers in coastal areas to support the surveillance efforts.

The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute and the Kerala State Pollution Control Board recently collected marine water samples from various coastal locations for further analysis. Fisheries department sources said the results would be available soon providing a clearer picture of the accident’s impact on marine resources.

The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) sources said the situation remained sensitive to weather and operational factors, even though the vessel was structurally afloat following improved fire containment measures. They also noted that forecasts issued by the India Meteorological department indicated strong westerlies, heavy rainfall, and rough sea conditions over Kerala, Mahe, and Lakshadweep between Saturday (June 14, 2025) and Monday (June 16, 2025), with wind speeds reaching up to 50–60 kmph.

The vessel, carrying 1,754 containers, departed from Colombo to Mumbai on June 7. Of these, 143 were reportedly loaded with potentially hazardous chemicals. Preliminary reports confirmed that 24 containers fell into the sea within hours of the massive fire breaking out. While rescue teams managed to save 18 crew members, four remain missing. KSDMA sources said the search for them is ongoing with the support of various rescue agencies.

Published - June 13, 2025 09:11 pm IST