Major oil spill risk off Kerala coast as fire on Wan Hai 503 yet to be contained; 4 crew members still missing

Thiruvananthapuram: Even as the fire aboard the Singapore-flagged cargo vessel Wan Hai 503 remains unextinguished, the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has issued an alert warning of a potentially widespread oil spill along Kerala’s coast in the aftermath of the incident.

The vessel is said to have been carrying 100 tonnes of polluting bunker oil. Containers that fell into the sea are reportedly drifting between Kozhikode and Kochi, according to the centre, which operates under the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences.

The containers are expected to drift in the sea for up to three days. Bunker oil is considered hazardous, and the oil slick could begin to spread parallel to the coastline by Tuesday evening. The intensity of the drift is expected to increase by Wednesday evening and continue in the same direction through Thursday and Friday, stated the INCOIS press release.

The MV Wan Hai 503 is a relatively small cargo ship. Such feeder merchant vessels are typically used to transport containers from major ports to smaller, shallow-draft ports at a lower cost. The ship’s route includes Colombo (Sri Lanka), Nhava Sheva (Mumbai), Port Klang (Malaysia), Singapore, Kaohsiung (Taiwan), Hong Kong, Shekou (China) and back to Singapore.

Rescue operations on

A rescue operation is currently underway for the four crew members who went missing following the accident. Meanwhile, the condition of two members among the 18 rescued is said to be critical.

State Ports Minister V N Vasavan said preliminary reports indicate that the mishap on Monday was caused by a fire on board, and that 50 containers had fallen into the sea.

Further action falls under the jurisdiction of the Union Ministry. In cases of offshore maritime accidents, the Shipping Ministry is responsible for initiating legal proceedings. The state government will address environmental and fisheries-related concerns.

The minister added that details on the exact cause of the fire are not yet available. The state will take necessary steps to claim compensation for any damages caused by the ship mishap.