Our Bureau
Mumbai
The Maritime Operations Centre in Mumbai had reported to their peers in Kochi about an explosion that occurred on the Singapore-flagged container ship MV Wan Hai 503. The blast on the ship was reported at 10:30 am in the morning on Monday, 9th June.
It was reported that the container ship had left Sri Lanka’s Colombo port on Saturday, June 7th. The ship was expected to reach Mumbai in around three days’ time on Tuesday, June 10th. The vessel however had an explosion and is currently on fire and is drifting away.
In a statement given by the PRO, the information was confirmed as he stated, “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 Flag Container ship, 270 m long and draught 12.5m with LPC Colombo.”
The statement has also been given by the naval forces that they had jumped quickly in action. The Indian Navy has redirected INS Surat at 11:00 AM as the warship was supposed to dock in Kochi. They have also deployed two and one Dornier aircraft, equipped with life rafts for aerial support and situational assessment. It has also been told that two coast guard surface ships have been dispatched and are expected to arrive at the vessel’s position within three hours.
It has been reported by the PRO that the ship is still ablaze, but the rescue operation of the crew is still in the process and around 80 percent total crew members had left the ship through a boat. The PRO stated, “Of the 22 crew, 18 crew have abandoned the ship on boat. Crew being rescued by CG and IN assets. The vessel is presently on fire and adrift.”
