Four crew members are missing. About 15 nautical miles off the southwest coast of India, in the Arabian Sea, a large fire has broken out on board the container ship MV Wan Hai 503.
On Monday, an internal explosion aboard the ship, which was sailing from Colombo, Sri Lanka, to Mumbai, India, caused a devastating fire. Only 18 of the 22 crew members were recovered, while four are still unaccounted for, despite the Indian Coast Guard’s prompt response to the distress call.
As of Tuesday, over twenty-four hours after the original blow, explosions have still been heard coming from the ship. Although the origin of the explosion is yet unknown, more than fifty containers were lost in the catastrophe and are currently adrift around Kerala’s coast.
The ship was transporting 100 tonnes of bunker oil along with other dangerous goods like resin and nitrocellulose.
In a matter of weeks, this fire is the second significant maritime event in the area. The Liberian-flagged ship “MSC Elsa 3” sank in May after spilling oil and dangerous cargo. The ship had already developed a considerable list as a result of heavy monsoon weather.
Further out, the “Morning Midas,” a different ship that was carrying about 3,000 cars off the coast of Alaska, caught fire and was abandoned.
These incidents highlight the dangers that mariners who operate on cargo ships face and serve as a clear reminder of how crucial cargo insurance is.
